Sonic SatAM: Ghost in the Machine
by Cyrex
Summary: A deadly new weapon takes the brave heroes of Knothole by surprise. When one of their own pays too high a price, the weapon itself begins to act strangely. Are they stuck between Doomsday and a hard copy? [Slightly AU]
1. A New Toy?

Introductory note: This story is a partially AU, based on the SatAM version of the series (Sally, Bunnie Rabot, Antoine, Tails, and co, on the planet Mobius). Effectively, the series is unchanged until near the end of the second season. Robotnik, instead of focusing on the Doomsday machine, realizes Sonic and his band of cronies are slowing him down too much. He's put the Doomsday machine on the back-burner, and is focusing in on how to deal with Sonic once and for all. Effectively, you can say I'm cutting in after the episode "Spy Hog", and changing the end of the second season into my own spin on things. Thank you for looking at this story.

Chapter 1: "A New Toy?"

Sunlight beamed brightly down into the verdant trees of the Great Forest on Mobius, practically the only part of the planet not corrupted by the empire of Dr. Robotnik and his roboticizing technology. Most likely, the forest only remained so because of the brave group of young freedom fighters who called it their home while struggling against the robotic legions, a great deal of which were their old friends or family lost to Robotnik's control. There was a particular freedom fighter who knew the bite of roboticization quite directly compared to her close friends, her new family, as she walked across one of the bright, healthy green pastures around the vast, gleaming complex of Knothole.

Bunnie Rabot smiled warmly up at her home, with its glimmering white arches, and smooth, almost organic design. The rabbit woman had soft, rich fur of a gentle brown hue, paling several shades on her face, where her large green eyes were accented by a curious amount of pale eye shadow. Few women pulled the look off so well as she, however, and her tall ears, the left flopped down near its middle then as usual, gave her an air of pep, energy, and casual humor.

It was nearly impossible to imagine that this young woman thought of herself as corrupted, an example of the scourge they were trying to rid from the land. Her right arm was slender, even lithe, and its fur kept it both adorable and beautiful. A mild pink body-suit clothed her torso, but let her small, puffy tail poke out near her waist. Sadly, she found these parts of her body so easy to ignore compared to her remaining three limbs. The boxy, bulky, mechanical extremities were useful despite their drab gray colors and lack of sleek, smooth contours her real limbs had possessed, and she was glad to have them for the sake of the resistance… but they haunted her eyes, and she couldn't help feeling her friends noticed them too much.

In fact, her friends barely noticed them at all for her great sense of humor, charming smile, and warm voice. She hid her feelings of hurt better than most, and focused on the positive. Only in certain moments, when she just couldn't ignore the uniqueness of her robotic limbs, did she reveal a glimpse of her pain on her otherwise warm, beautiful face. And it was those rare glimpses, those cracks in a beautiful smile, that often reminded her motley, adorable family just what they were fighting against. Beyond the lost friends and family, Bunnie was a living, lovable face to the injustice of Robotnik's tyranny, the emotional hammer behind his cruelty that kept them all going when facing another day just seemed unbearable.

Bunnie had much to smile about that day, though, and she spotted her destination with a big smile on her bright face, hop-skipping faster toward the small wooden hut in the shadow of the white arches. Coming up to the door, her furry hand knocked a few times, and Bunnie called inside, "Hey, Sally-girl! What y'all up to in there?"

The door quickly pulled open, revealing the smiling face of the beautiful Princess Sally Acorn. With a big wave of red hair gently flowing down into a curl near her face, which held her bright blue eyes and soft, dark nose, the squirrel princess wore a blue vest over her two-shade brown fur, and boots over her narrow legs. She had a very similar build to Bunnie, but was still blessed by all four of her original limbs. If asked, the rabbit woman would always concede that the princess was the more beautiful of the two of them, but Sally never considered them very different on that score. "Bunnie, it's good to see you." Sally's voice was more elegant than Bunnies playful accent, but carried the same warmth and sincerity in it.

Bunnie, however, caught the faint sadness in her old friend's manner. "I expected ya to be a might more happy about it, Sally-girl," she started with a light smirk, and then continued more sincerely, "What's eatin' ya?"

Sally slumped her shoulders with a dismal expression. "What else? Robotnik… Come in, I'd like to hear your ideas on what we know."

With a light nod, the friends entered the small, cozy home, and Sally sat down on her bed, Bunnie leaning against the wall and crossing her mismatched arms. The princess pulled a boxy, pale device off of her left boot, and flipped it open, revealing it to be a computer of some kind. "Nicole, relate information from Sir Charles on the supply lines to the Doomsday project."

Robotnik's ultimate weapon, the Doomsday Device, had been the focus of most of their attacks on his forces and supply-routes over the last months. With Sir Charles' help, the only roboticization victim to free his mind of Robotnik's shackles after complete change, they had kept one step ahead of Robotnik, keeping the horrible weapon from full function. It's pods could destroy organic matter in seconds, threatening the entire planet on a very real level.

But Nicole spoke in her calm, monotone manner, "Accessing data, Sally… All supply lines have diminished in visible activity by up to 80. Materials are being re-directed to Robotnik's main facility in Robotropolis."

Bunnie blinked. "Who-what in the where-now? Did I hear that right, Sally-girl?" she asked in bewilderment, looking to her friend.

Sally nodded, still dismal, as she met the look. "And we have no idea why. After he found out about Uncle Chuck, Robotnik kept up anti-bug security everywhere in the main compound. He is up to something very big to turn away most of the material from his main project like this. Or," she added with a grave turn to her face and an outward wave of her arms, "he's just found a way to hide his material transports from us. In which case, he'll have Doomsday up and running in no time."

Putting on her old smile, Bunnie stepped over, and put an arm across her friend's shoulders, patting the nearest one with her metal hand. "Now hang in there, girl. We'll find out what's what, and have old bolts for brains cursin' and fussin' like always, don't you worry 'bout a thing."

Sally laughed a bit, nodding as she reached up and gripped Bunnie's furry hand affectionately. She knew it would bother the other woman if she'd gripped the mechanical one. "You're right, Bunnie. I'm sorry, I just… I'm a bit worn out with all the raids over the last few weeks."

"This war is wearin' on _all_ of us, sugar. I'd be more worried 'bout ya if ya weren't showin' some signs of tirin' out. Tell ya what. You rest up today, and I'll round up ole Sugar-Hog and company to figure out a plan to find out more info. Take a rest, Sally-girl."

The princess showed a pang of resistance, but met Bunnie's playfully firm half-smile, and finally slumped in defeat with a wan smile of her own. "Thanks, Bunnie. I guess I could use a nap, yeah."

"That's my girl. Lie yourself down now, I'll go take care a-business for ya."

Sally pulled her friend into a hug first, which the cyborg woman happily returned with a light pat on the princess' back, and then she hurried out of the small cottage to let Sally relax. With a light smile and a shake of her head, Bunnie trotted off, looking for the Sugar-hog himself.

(Elsewhere…)

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Tails!"

Wind roared around the blue streak dashing straight across the vertical side of a cliff in the Great Forest near Knothole. Black eyes narrowed with a grin back over the shoulder of the front of the streak, pale limbs and a round belly keeping a sharply snouted head off the side of the cliff. The legs were lost in a twin blur of red, his red and white shoes slamming into the cliff-face too fast to be made out individually, propelling him at near the speed of sound… He wasn't really pushing himself at the moment.

Panting, sweating, but focused with admirable discipline for his age, was the young fox boy behind the blurring blue hedgehog. Born with a pair of tails rather than one, Miles Powers the fox had learned to fly by spinning the pair of limbs like a big propeller for his small body, and it let him keep up better than most with his hero and best friend, Sonic. "W-wait up, Sonic!" his young voice finally gasped. "I-I can't… keep going this fast…"

Smiling with more obvious affection for the young one, Sonic skidded to a halt, and let himself slide down the cliff-face, grinning up at his little partner. "Just pushing you, kid. That was a good run…" he blinked, glancing off, "Well… fly." He grinned again, and let the young fox land, huffing and sweating as he just plastered himself on the dirt path.

"Right… thanks… Sonic… I did… okay then?"

"You did great, Tails. Way past cool on this run."

The boy grinned wearily. "Way past."

"Waaaatch out!"

Sonic sank with dismal humor, recognizing the young, female voice from above quite well. Tails did, too, but was so tired that the speedy hedgehog had to zip over , and yank him out of the way as a huge, green mass rammed down the cliff-face and skidded to a rather painful halt down in front of them. The two 'racers' winced sympathetically, but Sonic shook his head. "Sheesh, Dulce, you really need to work on that landing." The dust was still settling from his quick dash to Tails, and the poor owner of the voice's landing.

A big mass shifted as the dust settled, swaying a bit, until finally coming into view. It was a tall, green-scaled, yellow-bellied dragon, with a ring through her nose a broad fin down her back and over the top of her head. She seemed a bit off-kilter, grinning distantly. "Right, Ma… I'll get it next time…"

"My stars…"

Sonic blinked over to where Dulcy had originally landed, and zipped over, startling Tails. Bunnie was picking herself off the ground, dusting herself off.

"Whoa, Bunnie. You alright after that?"

She gave the hedgehog a dry smirk first, setting her furry hand on its corresponding hip. "I'm just fine, Sugar-hog, but you sure know how to make yourself hard to find! And it looks like poor Dulcy's gonna be sleeping with an ice-pack on her chin again."

Sonic laughed, but was scratching his spines on the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that. What's up?"

"You heard the latest from your Uncle, there, Sonic?"

More serious, the super-fast hero nodded. "I helped Sal recover it last night."

Bunnie nodded. "Poor ole Sally-girl's gone and worn herself out, so I said I'd help plan out a recon mission today, let her know about it tomorra. Mind pitchin' in now?"

Sonic grinned. "Music to my ears, Bunnie. Grab hold of Tails, get a grip yourself, and we'll juice back to Knothole."

The rabbit woman blinked, gesturing to the dragon woman. "What about poor Dulcy, Sugar-hog?"

Sonic grinned. "I just can't race her back like I can you two. I'll juice back here, make sure she heads home, and be back before you can get the others rounded up. Guaranteed."

Knowing he was quite right from experience with his speed, Bunnie finally just rolled her eyes playfully, and went over, scooping Tails up in her furry arm with a warm smile. "Doin' alright there, sugar?"

Tails grinned sleepily. "I am now, thanks, Aunt Bunnie."

She winked, and put her metal hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Ready as we're gonna be, Sugar-hog."

Sonic's legs burst into round blurs as he revved them into the ground, leaning forward. "Then hold on _tight_!" he emphasized with a fresh sonic boom that woke Dulcy up from her daze.

"Oooh, ow." She sighed, shook her head to clear it a bit more, and then smirked at the dust trail behind Sonic's departure. "Never changes, does he? Ah well." She took flight, and made her way back to Knothole as well.

(Later…)

Bunnie, Sonic, Tails, Dulcy, and a handful of other resistance fighters, including Rotor, the blue-furred walrus who was the brain behind most of their equipment, and Antoine, the fox man in old military regalia with difficulty speaking English… and showing courage, were gathered around in a circle near Knothole, some standing, most sitting. Bunnie had already explained Sally's situation, which everyone was sympathetic to, and then Sonic took over.

"So here's what we know," his hand blurred into the dirt between them, drawing out a vague reference to Robotropolis. "Ole Butt-nik has been cutting off supplies to the Doomsday machine, at least that we can see, and hording a whole bunch of junk in his main HQ. We need to find out if it's staying there, what it's being used for, and if anything is still being sent to Doomsday."

Bunnie finally spoke again. "Sugar-hog's got it right. We'll be runnin' it by Sally-girl tomorra, but I think we're looking at a combination of small teams infiltratin' the big egg in the city. With Sonic divertin' most a-the ole rust-bucket's forces like usual, we oughta be able to get inside and figure somethin' out."

Dulcy smiled. "I'll stay high and circle so we can get out in a hurry on the way back."

Sonic was grinning himself. "And I'll keep your tails covered. Got a few new maneuvers I want to send dust into Swat-butt faces with."

Reminded by the word that matched his nick-name, Tails raised his little gloved hand. "Sonic, can I come this time? I can help Dulcy!"

The others shared awkward glances, and Sonic rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Tails, this is one mondo mission. I can't keep an eye on everybody, and it'd be too uncool for you to get hurt when I'm tryin' to back someone else up. You're still in training, kid, won't do you any good to get hurt out there too soon."

The boy was crestfallen, but nodded his understanding. Sonic patted the same shoulder lightly, giving Tails a cheering smile, and then looked across to Rotor as the walrus man raised his hand to get attention.

"I've been working on some new scan-blockers. I should have enough for a few teams, but not much more."

"No!" a heavily accented, rather high-pitched voice began abruptly, already getting dry glares from everyone else in the circle, even Tails to some degree, "Zis is unacceptabul! It iz far too dangerous, I am thinking, and vera, vera vague." Antoine stuck his nose up and off to the side as he finished.

Bunnie couldn't resist. "You realize this mission is basically Sally-girl's idea, doncha Antoine?"

The fox blanched. "Ze Prinzess? Surely you are making with the jokes, nes pa? Ze Prinzess would nevur condone such _fuelish_ action without a proper plan or even a specific target!"

"And how would we pick a target, Ant?" Sonic challenged darkly, all but glaring at the fox.

It was starting to make Antoine's rare force of will falter. "W-Well… I am thinking we must… ah… Send ze scouts, yes? To learn more, yes?" He finished hopefully.

Bunnie sighed with exasperation, though Sonic was near livid. The cyborg focused on the fox, and said, "Antoine, just what do ya think this mission is?"

"A vera _dangerous_ attack mission!"

"No, Antoine," Bunnie calmly continued. "It's a scouting mission, 'cause we don't know what to hit yet. Honestly, sugar, I worry about your noggin' sometimes." She punctuated her remark with a light smile and a knock on her skull with her furry hand.

Antoine blanched again, the others controlling snickers. Sonic just let himself laugh and roll on his back. Loosening his collar, the fox tried to recover himself, "W-well, of course! You are quite correct to be pointing this out, yes, Bunnie? I was… testing you, to… ensure that… all went well, on the mission, yes?"

Sonic's guffawing only grew louder, even Dulcy moaning into her hand, but Bunnie just shook her head, still smiling. "We ain't buyin' it, sugar. How about you just pick a team, and we'll move on from there, alright?"

Antoine was blushing violently, but quieted with a nod to her suggestion, and they started to divide up the teams, subject to Sally's own choices. By the end of the meeting, Sonic was solo, as usual, Bunnie would be teamed with Sally and Antoine, with Dulcy flying over head, and two other teams of three due to Rotor's limited number of scan-blockers.

As everyone broke up to rest or prepare, Tails tugged gently on Bunnie's furry hand. She was a bit surprised, but smiled and crouched down with him. Her left ear was flopping down in her face. "What's goin' on, sugar?"

Tails seemed adorably shy, awkward about something. "Can… Can I ask you a favor, Aunt Bunnie?"

"Well a-course, darlin'! Just tell me." She was smiling as brightly as ever.

"Aunt Sally is resting today, so I don't have anyone to read me a story tonight…"

Bunnie gave the boy an adoring pout, and patted his head with her softer hand. "Aren't you cute! You bet I'll read ya a story, darlin'. Just give me a little while to clear some stuff up, and I'll come right up to your room, okay?"

Tails grinned, brightening up immensely, nodded as fast as Sonic's legs moved, and shot off like a little helicopter. Bunnie stood up with a soft giggle, watching the child fly off with a fond glow in her eyes, and then hurried to find Rotor. She just had some questions about the scan-blockers she wanted to clear up…

(The dark city…)

It always seemed dark in Robotropolis. Actually, it was just smog keeping even the sunniest day from being more than a mildly well-lit night-time sky under black clouds and across a sea of dirty, hard metal. Only patrolling swat-bots, hover-head ships, or roboticized Mobians moved about visibly. Despite the darkness, the pollution, and the robots, however, one particular edifice was visible for kilometers in every direction.

The giant, egg-like tower in the center of the city. Robotnik's headquarters. Housing the roboticizer, several swat-bot factories, and all of Robotnik's personal equipment and labs, it was very much the heart of his dark empire, and every Mobian with conscience thought, other than the doctor himself or his obsequious nephew, Snively, wanted to see it topple into oblivion.

The practically bald, incredibly short, long-nosed, pale-skinned nephew was standing back warily in the control center of the edifice at that very moment, late in the night according to his chronometer on his wrist. He was near the large control-panel at the front of the rounded chamber, with his rotund 'commander' glaring down into video-images on his large, green control chair.

With a mechanical left arm due to an early fight with the blue hedgehog, and a good deal of mechanical parts installed himself, the red-within-black eyes of the tyrant glowed with unnatural light as he frowned firmly, bristling his orange mustache while his fingers tapped off each other in front of him.

"Yes… I see it now," the 'doctor' muttered in his rasping, heavy voice.

Snively risked speaking, his tinny words nasal and anxious. "See what, sah?"

"The truth, Snively." Robotnik's right hand came out and closed into a fist. "The truth."

The large chair turned on its base, allowing the glowing red eyes to lock on the small subordinate. The main screens in the room came to life abruptly, and showed footage of all the various attacks from Sonic and his friends, with the blue hero zipping around or just buzz-sawing through swat-bots like so much junk metal.

"I'm not sure why I didn't consider it before," Robotnik continued with dark relish in his broad smile, looking rather like a satisfied toad. "But I see it now. And I've been preparing. Oh yes, I have been preparing."

Snively sniffled a bit. "Would this be related to your top-secret project, Dr. Robotnik?"

The large cyborg grinned, and Snively would rather have never seen the expression.

"How perceptive of you, Snively. Yes, it does. And soon we'll be putting it to the test. Care to have a look?" His tone sharpened, turning it into a command.

Snively focused toward the left wall, to Robotnik's perspective, as the green command chair rotated toward an opening doorway. It was pitch black on the other side, but Snively could just make out a strange figure standing in the darkness.

"Meet my latest creation…"

Two red dots burst to life with a sharp hum as a haunting rush filled the air. Razor-sharp blades cutting the air at impossible speed, like a metallic, tinny roar.

Robotnik started to laugh. "If you can't beat them, roboticize them. Or as I may prefer… copy them. Say hello to Metal Sonic, Snively. He's going to make things… _interesting_ for our little blue friend…"

Snively just gulped, and realized the red optics were focusing on him as the rushing, cutting roar sounded again. "…Most impressive, sah…" Those eyes would haunt him for days…

Robotnik strummed his fingers together. "I know…"


	2. Hard Copy

Chapter 2: "Hard Copy"

Sally was nodding already, Bunnie not even finished explaining the break down of the teams. "Well done, Bunnie. I can't see anything to improve based on what we've got. What time is everyone preparing for?" She looked up from the rough map of the plan with a confident smile. The two ladies were in her cottage again, early the morning after the others' meeting.

Smiling herself, the metal-limbed rabbit woman answered, "As soon as you're ready, Sally-girl. Rotor's preppin' the scan-blockers for 'em right now."

Giggling, the princess said, "Well then I just need a little breakfast." She jumped suddenly, and Bunnie blinked in surprise. "Oh no! I forgot completely about poor Tails last night!"

Her friend smiled happily. "No worries there, Sally-girl. I read to him."

The squirrel relaxed back to a fond smile herself, and hugged Bunnie. "Thanks, Bunnie. He looks forward to it so much."

Bunnie grinned. "Just because the prettiest gal in our little organization likes to read to him at night."

Sally laughed, but was blushing a bit. "Don't be silly, Bunnie, I'm hardly the prettiest one here. Tails loves your hugs."

This time Bunnie still smiled, but it was obvious she wanted to move on. "Come on then, Sally-girl. Let's get you some grub!"

Hiding the sympathy she felt for Bunnie's situation, Sally nodded happily, and they hurried off to the refectory to get some food with the others. They found Sonic and Tails there already, the super-fast hero already munching on a plate full of chili-dogs.

"Aunt Sally!" the twin-tailed fox shouted for joy, and zipped headlong for the poor woman.

Sally was a bit scared by his speed, but caught him up in her arms with a warm laugh, and kissed the little boy on both cheeks, then his nose, making him giggle and hug her affectionately. She patted his fur, and let him down. "Were you good for Bunnie last night, Tails?"

Tails nodded rapidly. "Yes, Aunt Sally! Bunnie did different voices, but she was really good with the evil goblin king and the little cub!"

Bunnie was blushing gently, and gave her friend a nervous smile when Sally looked up with a kind of 'told you so' smirk. The rabbit woman finally leaned down to pat Fox's shoulder. "That's really sweet of you say, darlin', but I know you prefer Sally-girl's voices, don't worry 'bout a thing."

Tails giggled, but was totally sincere when he said, "Oh but I like yours, too, Aunt Bunnie!"

Her attempt foiled, the cyborg finally just laughed, and nodded to him, smiling. And then the two women finally joined the blue hedgehog with Tails. Sonic was grinning at the little interchange himself, but was too busy inhaling chili-dogs to do much else.

As Sally pulled herself up some fruit and bread with juice, she gave Sonic's 'breakfast' a dismal stare. "I'll never understand how you can get away with eating so much junk, Sonic… Must just be that insane metabolism of yours."

Sonic winked, taking half of another dog in one bite. "I'm just too cool for indigestion, Sal. Can't keep up with my feet!"

Sally opened her mouth to shoot down his questionable biology, but finally just rolled her eyes with an exasperated smile, and starting eating herself.

It didn't take long for the freedom fighters to meet outside and finalize their preparations. Rotor coached Sally on the scan-blocker, which resembled a simple black, narrow box strapped to the chest like a reverse-back-pack (only on the front for easy of reaching the controls). Sonic, of course, didn't need a scan-blocker, since was supposed to be a diversion anyway.

The three teams, including Dulcy, were actually just about to take off, when one of the mechanical messenger pigeons fluttered down toward Sally. Everyone watched as she let the robot land on her wrist, and popped open the panel on its back, taking the message out. Letting the robotic bird fly off, she unfolded the message, her eyebrows rising. "It's from Sir Charles." Immediately everyone was listening closely. "He says that Robotnik is beefing up security around the fortress, and that the supply lines have completely stopped today. He's guarding something," she said ominously for herself, looking back up to her friends and comrades.

Sonic braced down playfully. "Then it's time to juice, Sal! You guys get going, I'll get the swat-butts in the usual tizzy once you get there."

Sally reached out, but he was already spinning around and revving at the ground. "But we need to make sur--!" She cringed down and away with the others as a sonic boom shook the ground and the air screamed in the hedgehog's wake. "…sure to get all the patrols," Sally finished dryly, sighing.

Bunnie was laughing into her furry hand. "The Sugar-hog never was short on courage, Sally-girl."

"No… that he's not." Sally's tone wasn't quite as fond as Bunnie's, and then she looked up to Dulcy. "Ready then, Dulcy?"

The dragon winked, and lay down. The three teams climbed up on her back, Antoine murmuring anxiously, and then she twisted around, shooting into the air with a wailing, accented fox announcing her departure.

(The dark city…)

Dulcy shot down through the dark clouds over Robotropolis, and smiled as she saw the blue streak down below, ripping toward the central hub. The dragon looked back over her shoulder to Sally and the others. "I spotted him again. Where-to first?"

Sally shook her head down at the blue spec below them, and then replied to the dragon, "Southwest of the fortress first, Dulcy. Bunnie, Antoine, and I will try to scatter first, keep the other teams free of too many swat-bots."

The dragon was already diving. "You got it, Sally."

Down on the ground, Sonic was grinning as he blurred over the terrain, wind streaming across his face, his backpack barely hanging onto his shoulders. He did love his job. As he reached the slums of the actual city, an over-head patrol of the small gun-boats driven by attached swat-bots abruptly twisted and dove after him. Their monotone voices chorused, "Hedgehog alert. Priority 1. Capture."

Sonic laughed over his shoulder. "You slow pokes never quit, I'll give you that! But I've got a bigger party to start, so let's _juice_!" He sped off, almost flickering out of sight as he drove straight for the fortress at the heart of the city. Soon a small armada of ships and sprinting swat-bots were running after him, and he did have to juke to the sides regularly, but they just couldn't catch him.

Dulcy was just flying off to drop the other teams as Sally pulled Nicole from her boot amid a small pile of junk Southwest of the fortress. Bunnie was keeping an eye out while Antoine just shivered down between them. "Nicole, scan area. Any detectable activity?"

The computer flickered and clicked for a moment, then replied, "Negative, Sally. Beyond a greater concentration of swat-bot defenses in the area, I can detect no abnormal activity."

Sally frowned, but touched Bunnie's shoulder after putting Nicole away. "We just have to get closer. When Sonic passes this area, we move in."

Bunnie winked back at her. "You got it, Sally-girl."

"I am wondering why I am here, yes?" Antoine moaned, holding his head.

Both women sighed, but sharpened their eyes at the fortress, keeping their ears open for patrols.

Sonic was zigzagging around the fortress at this point, and while the army chasing him was getting bigger, something was very wrong. "No sign of butt-nik or any big toys yet…" He leaned down into a faster rush as a few shots came too close for comfort. He was just coming around to Sally's teams' location, and he needed to be focused.

Bunnie perked up a bit, and smiled. "There he goes, Sally-girl!"

Sally looked over, and saw the blue streak rip across the part of the fortress closest to them, all the swat-bots and ships in the area charging after him. Sonic angled around, and pretended to wave up at the bots' cameras, but he was actually signaling Sally and her team as he shot straight South, ripping past their hiding place with a familiar rush of wind and force. Bunnie had to clamp her mechanical hand over Antoine's mouth to keep his whimpering from revealing their location to the small ocean of swat and stealth-bots storming after the hedgehog.

As the three of them quickly came out of hiding and ran for the fortress' base, Sally realized something was wrong as well. Robotnik was not sending anything special after them. No new bots were pouring out of the fortress, no big cannons, nothing. Her mind ground on the troubling information as she reached a ventilation hatch with Bunnie and Antoine, and was pulling Nicole from her boot, ready to connect her to the console to get a better handle on their situation before using the vent… when she froze.

Antoine was too busy shaking, but Bunnie looked to Sally with some urgency in her eyes. "Sally-girl, what's wrong? You gotta get your head in the game, darlin'."

Sally let Nicole down, and looked to Bunnie. "I am. Look at this, Bunnie. Just the visible patrols? Nothing coming out of the fortress, no new weapons? We're being drawn in."

(Elsewhere…)

Robotnik's smile grew steadily. The hedgehog on his large screen from several different perspectives. Sonic had pulled the army chasing him out into the junk-yard, and was starting to make them shoot each other or buzz-saw through their metal frames. Now that he was so confident of victory, Robotnik could recognize the hedgehog's talent at wrecking machinery. He was almost a machine himself… "Ah, the irony," the doctor muttered to himself. "Snively?"

"Yes, sah?" the balding man replied warily, standing by his console again.

"Opportunity knocks. Activate the weapon. It is time to end this game, Hedgehog," Robotnik narrowed his eyes at the screen with a flash of red light. "Enjoy."

(Outside…)

Bunnie was about to push Sally on the idea of it being a trap, considering how big the force that had been guarding the fortress was, but then they all heard it, even Dulcy. A sonic-boom, and a ripping rush.

Green eyes widened as Bunnie swallowed. "That wasn't the Sugar-hog…"

Sally shook her head, and twisted around, looking out from the fortress. She spotted it, arcing down through the air from near the top of the tower. Something dark, glistening… and unbelievably fast.

"That was it, that's what he's been working on!" Sally realized with her heart sinking into her feet. "Sonic was the target the whole time!" She snapped a gun from her pack, and fired it up into the air.

Bunnie blanched. "But, Sally-girl, we can't just scrap the mission. Maybe that's just a new defense bot or somethin'?"

Dulcy was visible careening down toward them already. Sally shook her head. "No, Bunnie, this is too dangerous. Sonic will need help on this one."

Bunnie dragged the shocked Antoine out as Sally ran into the open to signal Dulcy down as orderly as possible. "Sonic can handle himself, Sally-girl, what's gotten into you?"

"In-coming!" Dulcy warned, smashing down into the ground, and skidding to a halt right in front of Sally.

The squirrel princess looked back to Bunnie. "I think I know what that things is. Dulcy, can you fly right away?"

"Sure, Ma…" the muddled dragon managed.

Anxious about her friend's choice, Bunnie finally hefted Antoine up onto Dulcy's back with Sally and herself, and then the dragon took off, shooting toward the waves of explosions that was Sonic fighting the swat-bots.

Sonic himself was having a blast. Cutting a hover-head in half, he shot out the far side, unrolled, and ran down a hill of junk, getting several other swat-bots to shoot each other to pieces.

"Too slow, bots! I thought you'd at least learn not to shoot at each other by now!" he laughed, and zipped around like a jagged line, causing several other bots to explode.

He was just turning around after a hard stop when it hit. His super-fast senses caught the bots flying apart around something much faster, coming from the direction of the fortress. Sonic blinked, and then dashed to his right.

"Whoa!" he gasped, seeing a trail of shattered rock and metal in the line he'd just dodged out of.

Turning around, Dulcy and the others just getting a good view themselves, Sonic's eyes widened at the sight waiting for him.

Standing at the end of the shattered terrain was a tall, dark shape. It slowly turned around, revealing dark blue metal, razor-sharp blades along the back of the rounded head, black eyes, and glowing red pupils over a metallic silver faceplate. The hands were articulate and large, the legs simple, with sharp, black shoe-like feet.

Metal Sonic narrowed his eyes at the real one, and the optics flared as the blades on the back of his head revved with the ominous, metallic roar that had so haunted Snively before. He spoke in a deeper voice than the other robots, apparently with a unique voice-module. "Sonic located. Priority 1 target."

"My stars…" Bunnie breathed.

Sally looked at the robotic hedgehog with dark shock written on her face, and Dulcy almost lost control of her flight.

"It's… Sonic…"

Sonic himself turned truly angry. "Now you've gone and done it, Ro-butt-nik. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_, copies me and gets away with it!" He shouted to the swat-bots all around him. "And if you think this hunk of junk is fast enough to beat me, you're just as wrong as you've always been!"

Metal's blade-fin revved again, and he suddenly blasted toward Sonic. The real hedgehog jerked down to the side, but stopped as the robot looked down at him from the left. "Actually, Sonic," the robot said coldly, "I'm just as fast as you are."

And then the swat-bots started firing again. Sonic revved, laughed, and shot off, Metal Sonic's blades revving before he rocketed after the blue wonder. The combined sonic explosions actually shattered the remaining swat-bots into oblivion, and the race was on.

Dulcy didn't need to be told. She cracked the whip, and sent herself ripping through the air to try and keep up with the two super-fast hogs.

Bunnie leaned in over Sally's shoulder, focused on the two racers. "That 'bot sure is fast, alright. What do you think, Sally-girl?"

Sally's hands clenched the saddle on Dulcy's back. "We need to lure him into a trap, Bunnie. That thing has to be destroyed. Sonic is our only real edge."

Metal was rapidly catching up to Sonic, but the original blue streak was smirking to himself. He'd let the clone get a little bit close, then leave him in the dust like everything else. "How's the weather back there, chrome-dome?"

Metal's eyes narrowed, and he started to speed up. Unlike Sonic's legs, Metal's zigzagged back and forth at incredible speed, leaving his lower body little more than a jagged cloud of blue and silver. They ripped down the streets together, leaned into their runs, matching motion for motion across the would-be track.

Sonic let Metal get within grabbing range, but then shot off like a bolt, aiming for the left-hand building they were just about to pass. He would flip over the robot, get behind him, and buzz-him in the back.

But he didn't see into the robot's mind. All the data that had been poured into his memory banks. It analyzed Sonic's behavior every fraction of a second, and mapped it onto video-samples of the hedgehog's tactics. The calculations were made before Sonic himself could blink, and Metal had three possible courses of action, each with 22, 33, and 78 probabilities of success.

The blue-metal robot suddenly shot up the right building with an insane burst of speed, and Sonic shouted in surprise as he flipped off the left building, only to have Metal Sonic shooting off to meet him from the other side. Both of them suddenly revved down into spinning discs, Sonic shooting down into the mechanical buzz-saw. They struck, bounced, rolled off opposite buildings, struck again. The cycle repeated in a blistering rush of blows and shattered buildings as Dulcy kept flying after them, the two blurring around like ping-pong balls on acid.

Even Sally was in a mild daze watching the super-fast duo rip into each other, only to bounce off from the matching speed of their blades. Bunnie was ducking her head down, because Dulcy was flying just fast enough to stay ahead of the falling debris from the buildings the fighting was ripping apart down the street.

And then it happened. They hit each other at slightly off angles, and their speed turned it into a vicious impact. Both were jarred out of their spinning positions, and sent flipping wildly through the air.

"_Sonic!_" Sally screamed, seeing him shoot off ahead of them, flailing like a rag-doll. A landing from that altitude…

Dulcy gritted her teeth, and snapped her tail down yet again. She rocketed ahead, just reaching Sonic as he fell toward the ground, and Bunnie and Sally yanked the speedy wonder down onto the dragon's back. Sonic groaned, holding his head. "Aw man… Sal, that thing hits hard…"

Antoine was a blubbering mess, but Bunnie looked back around him, and her eyes flared. "I don't mean to rain on the parade here, y'all, but he landed a lot better than you did, Sugar-hog."

They all looked back, except for Dulcy, and saw Metal simply flip down and crash to his haunches, instantly ripping after them with a flash of his red optics and a rev of his back-blades.

Sonic stood up on Dulcy's back, balancing, and focused down on the robotic copy darkly. "Sally, go get the other teams with Dulcy here. I know what to do with this hunk of junk."

"Wait, Sonic! We have to--No!" Sally actually tried to grab him this time, but he leapt off the dragon, and yanked a power-ring out of his back-pack, grinning with satisfaction.

Sally growled in frustration, and leaned to Dulcy. "Fly back around, Dulcy! We're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Dulcy started to angle back around. "Do what?"

Sally pulled two charges out of her back-pack, and looked back to Bunnie, who grinned, and pulled two more out of hers. The princess looked back to Dulcy's curious face. "Make a sonic-boom."

"That is sounding very dangerous, nes pa?"

"Quiet, Antoine!" all three women with him shouted in unison. The dragon dove after Sonic, who hit the ground just as the power-ring engulfed him in light, and he ripped toward Metal.

Metal's eyes flashed, and just as Sonic reached him, the robot pitched around to Sonic's left, turning on a dime, and slamming one hand into the ground as he locked both feet against it, focusing up on the hedgehog's back. Sonic smirked, and shot off, but Metal's back revved, his eyes flashed once more, and he shot off like a darker bolt. This time, however, his entire body locked forward, and his speed erupted. Sonic looked back, his eyes widening as he realized this machine was actually keeping up with him with a power-ring. They were out of Dulcy's sight in a blink, making Sally's expression fall with surprisingly deep despair, but off with the racers, Sonic hit a curved wall, and shot himself back toward the outside of the city. Metal chased him, the two airborne for several seconds, and landing rushing to meet Dulcy and company once more.

Spotting the dust-trails approaching, Sally readied her charges. "Bunnie, we'll use Nicole to time it." She pulled the computer off her leg.

"Ready, Sally-girl." She had the explosives out in both hands, ready to toss them down over Dulcy's flanks.

Sally readied both of hers in her free hand, and watched a count-down start on Nicole's screen.

Down on the ground, Sonic furiously charged ahead, his power-ring running low, he could feel it. That Robotnik could craft a machine so close to his own speed was privately quite disturbing to the speedy hedgehog, but he officially had bigger priorities. Sally, Bunnie, Dulcy, and his other friends were in serious danger as long as this thing was around. Seeing a blue and silver metal mask where his own face could be had unsettled Sonic more than he would admit to the same friends, and he could almost imagine the robot behind him finding Knothole…

Without his usual sarcasm or mockery, Sonic gritted his teeth, and ripped down the road, seeing Dulcy flying to meet him. Sally had a plan. Sonic grinned, and found the strength in him for another burst of speed.

Metal Sonic, however, started to slow faintly, his red optics dimming. His speed-burst was draining his power system to dangerously low levels. He could still predict the hedgehog with startling accuracy, but his diagnostics told him he could no longer keep up with the organic enough to utilize the predictions effectively. He was not programmed for retreat, however.

Nicole blinked. "Now, Sally."

"Bunnie!"

"Let 'em rip, darlin'!"

Four Rotor-made grenades shot down from Dulcy as Sonic zipped past beneath. Metal Sonic glanced up, self-defense programming reacting, but not fast enough. The absolute priority of Sonic's presence had delayed him at a crucial moment, and Metal Sonic was only skidding to a halt when the bombs hit the ground all around him. "Priority one…" His blades revved just as the bombs exploded, his body still shifting with his stop as he vanished in four clouds of light, force, and smoke.

"Yee-_haw_!" Bunnie hollered, waving her mechanical fist up in the air as Dulcy swerved around, Sally almost feeling relieved as she held Nicole up, their dragon friend starting to fly after Sonic.

"Nicole, report. Status of robotic hedgehog?"

The computer blinked a few times, but the smoke was already clearing. Sonic smirked where he stood, near the end of the street, just as Nicole finally said, "Target destroyed."

Sally almost fell off Dulcy with her relief, Bunnie giving a yelp and catching her on one side. Down on the street, scattered around a few craters, were the sparking parts that remained of Metal Sonic. The optical apparatus, with some of the top of the head, was still glaring at Sonic from the right side of the street, but the red lights dimmed… and finally shut off.

Dulcy aimed down, but didn't try to land. She just needed to get close to it. Sonic waved up at them.

"Great shot, ladies! Where would I be without ya, right?"

Sally smirked down at him. "Right. Now get back to Knothole. We'll recover the other teams."

"I'll help!" Sonic called as Dulcy started to fly up again, forcing him to turn around.

Bunnie waved down at him. "Just get home, Sugar-hog! We figured out what ole rust-bucket was workin' on, didn't we?"

Sonic was about to protest, but then stopped, his finger sinking. "Oh yeah… we did… Hm. Way past!" And he hopped, revved his legs, and shot off with a familiar boom and rush.

Sally sighed, holding a hand to her heart. "That was too close. Dulcy, the others should be at the meeting place in the junkyard by now anyway."

"Got it, Sally!" the dragon replied cheerfully, quite relieved herself.

Bunnie glanced back, and sighed with exasperated humor at the white Antoine clinging to Dulcy's tail. She reached her mechanical arm back, and the hand extended, gripping his collar before pulling him back to sit behind her. Looking forward to her friend, the half-mechanical rabbit patted Sally softly on the back. "Sure was, but you did it, Sally-girl."

"_We_ did it, Bunnie. Thanks." The princess looked forward dismally, though. "This isn't over, though. Robotnik might just build another one of those things."

"Maybe so, but we know some of Rotor's toys will take care of 'em real quick, right?"

Sally grinned again. "Good point, Bunnie. Oh, thank goodness, the other teams are there," she noticed, pointing down for Dulcy.

Her three current passengers wailed as Dulcy swept down into another crash-landing…

(In the dark fortress…)

It was difficult to believe that the freedom fighters still in the city didn't hear the heart-chilling roar from Robotropolis' ruler. "_Nooooo!_"

Snively was already trying to leave the command center, when he yelped, choking as Robotnik's mechanical hand clamped around his tiny neck and hefted him up to the bushy orange mustache and glowing red eyes.

"I had him, Snively! I had that blasted _hedgehog_!"

"Y-yes… sah…"

Snively was sent into the console with a dismissive shove as Robotnik stomped away, prattling on manically as his hands contorted up near his head. "I calculated every variable! Accounted for every possible strategy! Designed an entirely new physical-motion drive and inertial dampeners! I had everything in place, in order. The hedgehog's demise was certain!"

He twisted again, stomping back the other way. "How could he defeat Metal Sonic? It was flawless, obedient, fast enough to catch and outmatch that little blue stain until…"

Snively watched anxiously, hiding behind the edge of his console as Robotnik seemed to freeze, like a computer losing power abruptly. He stared into nothing with his glowing eyes. "Until…" he repeated quietly… ominously.

Abruptly, he snapped toward his command chair, and bounded into it with surprising speed for his girth (though he did shake most of the room with his landing), and started clicking controls. "Computer, play security-orb files from the following time increments," he ordered, typing busily at his private console.

Snively stepped out, blinking as the large view-screens split up and came to life with other video-feeds… this time of Princess Acorn, her cyborg friend, and other freedom fighters during battles with the hedgehog. And then the footage changed to the most recent fight, with Metal Sonic screeching to a halt only to be destroyed by four grenades dropping from above…

"_THAT'S IT_!" Robotnik's voice boomed, his fists almost ripping the sides of his command chair off he pounded them so violently. He started to laugh, spinning his throne around with manic humor. "Yessss. Yes! How could I miss it before? It's so obvious now!"

The chair halted, and Snively yelped, realizing Robotnik was staring at him.

"Snively! Send swat-bots to pick up the wreckage of my dear little pet-project. I have… programming to write…" He relished the words, tapping his fingers together.

(Author's Note)

Sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter. was having issues for me, and would not let me upload the document.

Getting into the meat of things now. I hope this second chapter proves interesting compared to the foreshadowing in the first. With what I've written, the story is already a very unique spin on the SatAM universe, for good or ill. Thank you for the positive reviews, and I apologize for any typos I've missed. Thank you for reading!


	3. Different Priorities

Chapter 3: "Different Priorities"

Sonic was grinning up at them as Dulcy came crashing down into her final landing of the day. There were times when the hedgehog wondered why she bothered to take off in the first place, but when she skidded to a halt, she seemed to remain at least coherent this time. She just sighed, and let everyone climb off her back.

"So what took ya, huh?" he mock-complained, still grinning.

Until a particular princess came right up and grabbed his nose with a rather painful clamp of her fingers.

"Yeowch! Hey, Sal!"

She let go, and stared at him sternly. "Sonic, I swear, if you ever get yourself in that much trouble _again_, I will _hand you over_ to Robotnik before you get us _all_ killed or roboticized! You sped off _twice_ when it was incredibly brash this time, and it nearly cost us our biggest advantage in this fight with Robotnik!"

Bunnie was lingering back with the others, hiding her humor poorly as she resisted giggles at the riot-act-reading Sonic was getting from Sally. Tails was flying up, blinking at the spectacle, and the other freedom-fighters were mostly hiding laughter as well. Antoine, however, seemed to take a smug satisfaction in Sonic's dressing down.

Sonic seemed startled and upset that Sally would be so angry this time in particular. "Hey, hey, hold up a second!" He stopped, everyone staring at him. "Wow, I don't think I ever said that before…"

Sally raised her eyebrows, realizing he was right.

Sonic quickly shook his head. "Anyway! Look, we toasted that toaster, didn't we? What's the biggie?"

The princess frowned firmly. "Because we got _lucky_ when, if you had _listened to me_, we could have gotten a plan going much _faster_. You slowed us down this time, Sonic. Do you understand _that_?"

Tails landed at this point, and his surprise was turning into a pout and watery eyes as he saw two of his favorite friends really getting angry at each other.

Being called slow was all it took to make Sonic go livid. "Oh no! You did not just call me a slow-mo! I was keeping that tin-can revving from start to finish!"

"Yes. _Our_ finish!" Sally shouted back.

Bunnie sighed. To her it was obviously just the pair's concern for each others' safety boiling over, but it was getting too angry to do any good now. She moved over at this point, Sonic looking like he was about to jet off just to get out of the situation, and planted her heavy feet between them. "Alright, y'all, that's _enough_."

Sally blinked, staring at her. "You're taking his side, Bunnie?"

Sonic grinned.

Bunnie, however, fixed them both with a firm stare, and it looked like Sally was getting dressed down by the dip of her head she suddenly gave to the half-roboticized woman. "This ain't 'bout sides, darlin'. You two are shoutin' too much to do any good. Sonic, Sugar-hog, if you ever jet off when we're dealin' with a serious problem like that again, I'll break those speedy little legs _off_," she flexed her metal hand, and the blue hedgehog twitched, "ya hearin' me?" Then Bunnie rounded on Sally, "And Sally-girl, reading the hog in front of everybody like this is just gonna rile him up worse, and you know it. You want to give him a hidin', you do it right. You let him jet off every time, you can't get angry just because this one was a little worse. Ain't that right?" she finished, tilting her head down and using a tone that an angry mother directed at disobedient children.

Sonic was toeing the ground as he nodded, Sally blushing a bit in front of everyone, and nodding a bit, whispering something about, "Y-yeah, Bunnie," under her breath.

Relaxing into her warm, usual humor, Bunnie smiled ,and raised her arms out. "Well then what are we waitin' for? We need to celebrate kicking that little tin-can's kiester Knothole style!"

Suddenly everyone was cheering, and charging off the dining hall. Bunnie let them go, Antoine carried off in the crowd, and Sally and Sonic shared a meek smile, both apologizing quietly.

"I-I mean, I… coulda listened this time, Sal," Sonic added awkwardly, scratching his spines.

Sally half-smiled. "And I do let you do it a lot, I should've been more clear."

"So is the fighting over?"

They both looked down to Tails, who was pouting up at them from near Bunnie's right leg. Bunnie gave the little fox an adoring pout, but let him trot over as Sally crouched down and offered her arms. "Come 'ere, Tails."

She gathered him up in a squeezing hug. "Yes, the fighting is all over. Sonic and I just had a bit of a scare out there today, and got confused."

Sonic smiled, patting Tail's shoulder. "What she said… just with the names flipped around." He crossed his fingers from each hand, and crossed his eyes, making Tails laugh before Sally kissed him on the cheeks and nose.

Giggling as he got back down on his feet, Tails smiled up at them, and then all four of them hurried to the dining hall to join the others in the party.

(Two weeks later…)

Things got quiet for a couple of weeks after the defeat of Metal Sonic. Sally had updated Uncle Chuck, who agreed to keep an eye for parts that would help with a super-fast robot design in future. It also didn't seem Robotnik was up to anything other than maintenance, and so the resistance took the chance to plan new attacks on power-sources and supply lines as they were. Down near Rotor's workshop, Bunnie was helping move some heavy parts on the upper level. Rotor was out on a high balcony with her, and he was setting up a rudimentary solar power system to help boost their supply.

Bunnie was helping hold part of the large machine in place, Rotor screwing it in to lock it down, when his hand slipped, and he stumbled into the contraption. "Ouch! Oh, whoa, Bunnie watch out!" He realized the apparatus was sliding back, and Bunnie was behind it, near the railing.

Shifting her wait to hold it. "I got it, Rotor, don't worry 'bout a—_thing_!" she yelped as her right foot missed the edge of the balcony, and she twisted and fell back. The weight of the machine and her own limbs made her crack clear through the wooden railing, and she went flying out into the open air.

"Bunnie!" Rotor shouted in dismay, and scrambled to the edge of the balcony.

With a grunt as she hit the side of the building with her legs, Bunnie spun out into the air, and slammed onto her back with a sickened groan.

Rotor sprinted out of the bottom of his workshop, and ran over to her. "Bunnie! I'm so sorry! Are you seriously hurt?"

Bunnie reached up with her furry hand, patting her forehead. "My stars… that was one heck of a trip…" She started to ease herself upright. "No, no, sugar. I think I'll be okay. Mind if I just take a break, though?"

Rotor smiled with relief. "Not at all. Gosh, I would've felt horrible. I'm so sorry, Bunnie, that was completely my fault."

She smiled, but was holding a bit of an awkward pose, only faintly sitting up, and seeming to rest her furry hand on her metal shoulder. "Not a problem, darlin'. It happens. Go on inside. I'll come fetch ya when I'm feelin' up to it, alright?"

He grinned, and ran back into his workshop. Bunnie winced a bit more seriously, and started to sit up. She jerked when her left arm slipped out of its shoulder socket and clanged into her lap.

Frustration boiled over, and she wrenched it off her lap, managing to get up on her battered feet, and then hold the mechanical arm back to her shoulder as she walked off into the bushes. Moving a short distance, she found a small tree-stump, and just sat there, holding her arm in place as she bowed her head. Her torso started to shake quietly, but she didn't make any noise as drops started to ping off her arm, and drip to the dirt and grass at her glistening, metal feet.

(Later…)

"Aunt Bunnie? Aunt Bunnieee?"

Tails looked around, starting to push through leaves in the bushes. He'd been looking for her for Aunt Sally, and Rotor told him she'd gone out for a walk near his workshop. Tails wasn't sure why Rotor looked so sad when he'd said so, but figured it was some grown-up thing he wouldn't understand.

"Aunt Bunnie?" he called again, just stepping into a little clearing. "Aunt Bunnie!"

He hurried over to her, still sitting on the stump, her head bowed. The rabbit jerked away from him suddenly, however, and Tails stopped.

"What's goin' on, darlin'?" she asked as lightly as she could manage, but Tails realized her voice was a bit thicker than usual.

"A-Aunt Sally wanted to talk to you, but couldn't find you anywhere. A few of us agreed to go look for ya… Aunt Bunnie, are you okay?"

She took a moment to answer. "…I'm… I'm fine, Tails. Do me a favor, and just tell Sally-girl I'll be a few minutes, alright?"

Now he was worried. "But Aunt Bunnie…" He trotted over, just touching her arm.

The push shifted the metal limb just enough, and her one-handed grip on the shoulder slipped. The heavy limb slid down, and slammed onto the grass, clicking faintly from the internal parts falling into different positions.

Tails froze, his mouth open, and Bunnie rounded on him. "Just go, Tails!"

The poor boy was tearing up, stumbling backward. "I-I'm sorry, Aunt Bunnie. I didn't mean to break your arm! I really sorry! I swear I didn't mean to!"

Bunnie bowed her head from the guilt rising up to mix with her painful shame, and suddenly reached up with her furry hand. "No, no, darlin', I'm sorry. Wait… wait a bit…"

Tails stopped, blinking and confused, but then crestfallen as Bunnie started to sob into her remaining hand. He hurried back over to her, and she suddenly pulled him into a tight, one-armed hug. "I'm so sorry, darlin'. I didn't mean to snap at you," she managed thickly around her tears. "I was just tryin' to be alone, and ya startled me, is all. I'm real sorry, Tails. Real sorry…"

Tails started to cry as well, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Aunt Bunnie. I didn't mean to knock your arm off. We can fix it, right? We can fix machines, right?"

The combination of his innocent intentions, her already painful shame, and the guilt of what she'd just done to the little one made Bunnie break down completely. She was weeping onto the poor child's shoulder as she tried to comfort him. "Y-yeah… we… we can fix it… Don't you worry 'bout a thing… I'll be fixed up in a jiffy… You didn't… You didn't knock my arm off, darlin'."

"T-Then why are you so sad, Aunt Bunnie? I don't understand."

Bunnie gasped for breath. "I-I know you don't, darlin'. I know you don't. It's alright, I promise. Your Aunt Bunnie's just cryin' 'cause she's a crazy old grown-up. Don't you worry, don't you worry one bit. You're good a boy, Tails. I shouldn't a-snapped at you like that. It was just mean of me…"

Tails squeezed his hug. "Please stop crying, Aunt Bunnie. It'll be okay. We'll fix your arm up, good as new. I-I bet it'll be even better. Way past cool!"

She could finally laugh, pulling the boy back to give him an adoring pout through her tear-stained, floppy-eared face. "Aw, ain't you jus' the sweetest little darlin' on Mobius?"

Tails tried to smile instead of crying as she patted his cheek.

She nodded for him. "It's okay, Tails. It's okay. You just stumbled into a mess, you didn't do a thing. I promise, alright?" She patted his cheek and held his chin up, raising her eyebrows.

He did relax, nodding softly. She let him start to wipe his eyes, both of them sniffing as she wiped her own. "Do me a favor, darlin'?" she asked when her voice was tolerably normal.

Tails nodded rapidly.

Smiling fondly, Bunnie explained, "Please tell Aunt Sally that I need to have Rotor fix up my arm, then I'll hop right over to her place, okay?" She could push her normal humor into her voice at this point, but was still hiding a wave of frustration at her body.

Grinning, Tails hopped up, twirled his tails into flight, and shot off. Bunnie finally sank onto her knees, and held her hand to her head. "Good stars tonight, girl, you need to get a hold of yourself. Cryin' over nothin' and then scarin' poor Tails half to death. Honestly." She hefted herself up, picked up her damaged arm, and walked back to Rotor's.

Rotor was shocked and horrified that her arm had fallen off, and she knew it was because he realized it had happened when she fell. Spending half the time calming him down from apologizing, she finally got the poor walrus man to fix her arm up. It was good as new in a few minutes, she thanked her friend, and hurried to Sally's place.

When she got there, she was a bit startled when Sally yanked the door open, and just hugged her tightly. Bunnie blinked, but hugged her back. "What's all this, Sally-girl? Somethin' go wrong?" she asked the second question with a bit of fear in her voice.

Sally pulled back with a soft laugh, but her eyes were watering. "No, Bunnie, Tails just told me what happened. Aw, Bunnie, I'm so sorry he stumbled onto you like that."

Bunnie's expression melted. "I'm just sorry for snappin' at the poor boy."

The princess pulled her friend into the cottage, and hugged her again after closing the door. "You're not a freak, Bunnie. You're one of the bravest, most beautiful women I've ever known."

She was tearing up again herself, so Bunnie started to pat Sally to calm her down. "N-now, now, Sally-girl. Don't go gettin' all silly on me."

"Just listen for once, would you?"

Bunnie blinked, startled the power of her friend's sympathy.

Sally pulled back, but held her friend's shoulders tight. "You don't need to be ashamed of the roboticized parts, Bunnie. Please. We'll get you back your original arm and legs, I promise, but there's nothing _wrong_ with you, Bunnie! I know you're hiding it all the time, how ashamed you feel, how ugly you feel, but it's not true!"

Her shell was cracking, but Bunnie shook her head. "Sally-girl, hold up a sec alright?"

Sally did calm, a bit meekly pulling her hands back to herself.

"Y'all are great people, I know that. None of you even give my metal parts a second glance, and I can't tell ya how much it means to me, to fit right in when I can't even stretch in the mornin' without a can of oil by my bed. Sugar-hog, Rotor, all the guys make me feel like the prettiest little gal in the forest next to you," she added with a fond smile, "but sometimes I just miss my own body, alright? I'm glad I can help fight, that these legs and arm of mine are so strong, but when it just gets too much, it gets too much. I'm not happy with the way I am, and I'm not gonna lie about it."

Sally smiled gently. "I know, Bunnie… I just don't want you to feel like you have to lie to us the rest of the time. You're our _friend_, you don't need to go hide in the bushes when your arm or legs get damaged. If it were that easy to fix any other injuries, we'd be beating Robotnik back to the stone-age already!" she tried to offer some humor, smiling hopefully.

Bunnie did actually laugh, and Sally was glad to join her in it. And then, Sally reached out and pulled Bunnie's metal hand up in both of her own, making the other woman's face tighten. "Please, Bunnie. I know it's not the hand you want, but it's your hand right now. This is my friend's hand. Don't be so angry about it, please."

This time, she looked down… only to see her feet. She forced a smile, and looked up at her friend's eyes. "You're a real darlin', Sally-girl, but it's okay." She pulled her hand back to her side.

Sally let the cold fingers slip from her own, and then nodded. She knew Bunnie didn't want anymore said on the issue that day.

"So what's goin' on?"

Sally nodded again. "We got a new report from Uncle Chuck. Robotnik is starting to move supplies into a facility in the Great Unknown canyon area. Sonic is out scouting the place, I just wanted to update you."

Bunnie smiled, nodding herself. "Thank you kindly, Sally-girl. I'm gonna go help Rotor finish settin' up that solar thingy a-his before night comes!" she finished with a light laugh, and Sally relaxed into one herself as the rabbit hurried out the door and on her way.

When the door shut, Sally looked down sadly. "…I thought she was getting used to it, but I should've known better. Oh, poor Bunnie." She frowned firmly. "We'll build a deroboticizer that works. We'll get you back your body… then you won't have to be ashamed with your friends anymore."

She pulled up Nicole, and started adjusting battle-maps.

(Elsewhere…)

The dusty yellow plains and crags of the great unknown were actually becoming rather familiar to Sonic, he just hadn't bothered making a map with Sally and Nicole yet. It didn't take him long to spot a convoy of hover-heads, their colored, dome-like shapes rushing off to the North. After following them quite a distance, he hid behind a rock, and watched them fly down into a long, narrow valley, which became quite deep surprisingly soon.

Not one to leave his nose too far out of Robotnik's business, the hedgehog blurred up to the edge of the valley, and looked down a straight drop for about eight meters. If the others came, they'd need him or Dulcy to get them out. Nodding to himself, he blurred down, and coasted deeper into the valley. When he spotted a fresh set of hover-heads rushing out of the valley, he zipped behind a boulder in the darkened crags, and let them fly past. He kept going until he saw what they were working on.

At the end of the valley, in the deepest part of it, a large, mechanical gate had been constructed, with a small army of swat-bots guarding it. "Looks like red-eyes got himself a nice dark hole to hide in," Sonic muttered to himself. He grinned with the gate started to open again.

Rising to the top like a beast's jaw opening to roar at the valley, the gate swung out of the way with hissing hydraulics, and let Sonic see into a surprisingly large chamber with something incredibly bright flashing and flickering at the very back.

A fresh patrol of hover-heads zoomed past his hiding spot from the open gate, and it started to close again. Though he couldn't tell what exactly Robotnik was or had already set up in the chamber, it was obviously a big deal, and even more obviously in need of being destroyed.

After making sure he had a gap in the patrols, the blue hero streaked out of the valley, and headed back to Knothole. He did not realize that he was already on one of Robotnik's view screens as he jetted out of the valley. The tyrant smiled darkly in his command chair back at Robotropolis, and then rotated it around to look at his needle-nosed nephew. "Excellent. I had hoped some of those little friends of his would be the first scouts, to get some early data back, but there's only one game that matters, in the end. Everything is prepared, yes, Snively?"

"Y-yes, sah. Regular supplies have been forwarded to the unknown facility, and a full battalion of swat-bots and aerial support has been stationed there." The much smaller man was reading off of a data-board as he stood near his console.

Robotnik grinned again. "And, of course, my little 'surprise' for those aggravating freedom fighters. Oh, I do hope Princess Acorn is with them again. It will make this so much more satisfying."

Snively was a bit confused. "Considering the nature of the modifications you made, Dr. Robotnik, wouldn't it be wiser to capture the Princess alive? It would be a crushing morale blow to the resistance, and make it much easier to--?" He yelped, ducking as a random bolt was sent flying at his head. He was spared, but the wall behind him was sporting a new exhaust port.

Robotnik glowered at the dwarf. "Don't you see, Snively? That's the very problem. Capturing. No, no. We're done capturing. With Sir Charles managing to recover his mind as a robot anyway, the risks may outweigh the gains with roboticizing them all." He smiled with renewed relish, looking back to his screens, some of them showing diagnostics for a wire-frame very like Sonic's shape. "Game over, hedgehog."

(Back at Knothole…)

A familiar boom and rush reminded Sally to step out of her cottage and walk out into the central field of Knothole. She smiled warmly as her blue hero rushed up and skidded to a halt in front of her. The squirrel held her hands to her hair for a moment as the wind caught up with him. "Welcome back, Sonic. What did you find?"

"Mondo trouble, Sal," he started in classic style, smirking despite his news. "Ro-butt-nik's got himself a new base up in the canyons. Tons of guards, and something big inside. I couldn't quite make it out, but I'm not sure we can pass up blowing it to bits."

Sally looked up and off, pondering the information. It was troubling, but also simply odd. "This is all very strange, Sonic. Robotnik nearly has Doomsday complete, but he's delaying suddenly, and working on all these side-projects. As dangerous as it was, even that robotic double of you didn't seem like enough to really get him side-tracked for long." She frowned, looking down at the ground. "I don't like this… But you're right, we can't pass it up either."

Sonic nodded. "Exactly. I know big, round, and mean is acting weird, but there's just too much there to skid around. 'Sides," he hopped into a pose, leaning back while looping his thumbs into the straps of his backpack, trying to look suave, "you've got the fastest thing on Mobius with you."

The Princess smirked at him despite the situation. "How could I forget?"

He winked, and then she leaned over to kiss his cheek, making him laugh nervously and scratch his spines.

Sally nodded back. "Come on, Sonic. Let's round up the others, and get a plan going."

Of course, the blue hedgehog was more than happy to oblige. It didn't take long to get everyone together, and Rotor had built some fresh explosives just in time for a demolition job. Again, Sonic would be the diversion for most of the guards, while the real mission group got inside and rigged the facility to blow, especially the strange device Sonic had seen at the back. Dulcy would carry them to the site behind Sonic, and then Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine would rig the devices. Most of the other freedom fighters had other missions to keep the Robotropolis forces on their toes, but they didn't want too large a group anyway.

By late afternoon they were ready to go. Sonic was warming up his legs to pass time as Dulcy and the others prepared to follow him. Tails flew over from the houses, and landed with his hero and friend. "Can't I help, Sonic?"

The hedgehog ruffled the kid's ears lightly, making Tails giggle a bit. "Sorry, Tails, but this is another big-time mission. You don't want to be anywhere near it, trust me."

Sally smiled with a bit of approval for once as she heard Sonic speak, and, as she situated herself on Dulcy's back with Bunnie and Antoine behind her, she called down to the little fox. "He's right, Tails. This isn't going to be fun, just really dangerous. Don't worry, we'll be back as soon as we can."

Sonic winked. "What she said." He glanced back to his comrades, nodded to himself, and flashed a grin to the little fox again. "We're all set. Time ta _juice_!" He hopped up, legs swirling into red discs, and hit the ground with a sonic blast, flashing off with a ripping roar.

Tails braced his stance against the blast of wind, Dulcy skidding a bit on the ground thanks to her wings, and then the Dragon braced down, spread her wings, and pounced into the air, taking flight.

Bunnie waved down at Tails. "Take care of the place for us, darlin'!"

"You got it, Aunt Bunnie!" he cheerfully affirmed.

Looking ahead with the others on Dulcy's back, Bunnie giggled fondly. "He's such a sweet little thing. Growin' up a might too fast for my likin' all the same, though."

Sally turned a bit melancholy. "Don't I know it… I'm not sure I'll be able to handle him joining the front-lines if we haven't stopped this war soon."

Dulcy looked back with a wink. "Don't worry, Sally. We'll have that no-good tinker-toy running for the hills in no time."

The princess smiled. "I certainly hope so."

(Later, in the unknown…)

Sonic blasted across the dusty plains, ripping around the occasional boulder, his eyes sharp with focus this time. With his friends, especially Sally, he'd kept up his old bravado and humor, but the fight with Metal Sonic had affected him, and he wasn't going to let Robotnik get so close to seriously hurting his friends again. With a brief glance over his shoulder, he spotted Dulcy in the distance, and nodded to himself. He reached up, and touched a small device in his ear. "Reading me, guys?"

Bunnie's laugh came through clear first. "Loud and clear, Sugar-hog."

"Yes, we're reading you, Sonic," Sally's voice added. "Rotor's transceivers are working like a charm." On Dulcy's back, the princess looked up to the blue smudge ahead of them under the darkening sky.

"Way past," Sonic's wry humor reached her right ear all too clearly.

The squirrel just laughed gently, shaking her head, and then braced herself for the mission mentally.

"We are quite certain Sonic will be distracting all of the swat-bots, yes?" Antoine muttered hopefully behind the cyborg rabbit of their group.

"What's the matter, Antoine?" Bunnie asked, looking over her organic shoulder at him with a combination of alluring and sardonic humor. "You're not afraid of a few little ole swat-bots now, are ya?"

The fox adjusted his collar, resisting the sweat growing into beads on his forehead. "N-No, not at all, mademoiselle Bunnie… Not at all…"

Down on the plains, Sonic finally spotted the start of the valley. He touched his ear again. "Here it is, Sal. You guys get ready, I'm juicin' in." And he revved harder, ripping a trail in the dust, and swerving down into the darkened crags, clearing the brief drop in the blink of an eye.

Sally checked her pack, nodding to herself, and looked to Dulcy. "Take us in low from the side, Dulcy. We want to let Sonic pull most of their forces out of the valley completely."

The dragon nodded, and dove down to the right.

Sonic laughed as he skidded to a halt right in front of the huge mechanical door at the deepest end of the valley. "Well look what we got here! Is this tall, dark, and ugly's new summer home?" he asked the two closest swat-bots before they had even registered his presence. "Because it stinks as bad he does!"

"Hedgehog alert! Priority 1!" the entire army of bots in the canyon suddenly chorused, hover-heads, patrol craft, and the soldier-types all rushing at him.

"Too slow!" Sonic hopped over a few blaster shots, landed on blurring legs, and shot from side-to-side, blasting back to the entrance of the valley, the small army in his wake.

Outside the valley, Sally raised her binoculars on Dulcy's back, the dragon circling some tall spires off to the right of the deep canyon's entrance. She saw Sonic lead the guarding bots out onto the plains, and shoot off in the opposite direction. "That's it! Dulcy!"

The dragon snapped around, and shot for the valley. With surprising speed for her size, Dulcy rushed down into the dark crags, and started to slow down for a big turn down near the large metal gate. Sally braced with Bunnie, who made sure Antoine was ready with a tap on his shoulder. Gripping their packs for good measure, the three resistance fighters leapt off Dulcy's left side, and let the Dragon fly straight back out of the valley. Antoine landed with a loud 'oof!', falling on his front, but the two ladies managed to crash to their haunches. Bunnie gave the ground a glare when it cracked under her metal feet, and then stomped over, yanking Antoine onto his feet. "Come on, Antoine. It's mission time."

Sally ran to the right side of the gate, almost smirking as she heard Sonic's mocking calls and hollers of victory over the transceiver in her ear. He was probably already close to finishing with the forces Robotnik had left outside.

Patching Nicole into the gate controls, Sally gave a small exclamation of success when the huge gate snapped, and hissed slowly open for the three of them. She flattened herself to the right, Bunnie slamming Antoine back with her on the left, but nothing came out immediately.

Both women risked a glance around the edges of the gate, and they were both quite troubled to see not a single swat-bot in the entire, huge chamber. Industrial pipes ran from the walls on either side of the entrance, around the edges of the deep cave, to a huge, brightly flashing machine at the far side.

Sally stepped out into the open, Bunnie joining her, with Antoine gripping his pack to his front rather than leaving it on his back as he stepped out hesitantly himself. The princess held up her computer. "Nicole, scan."

"Scanning… Energy generating drive. Transparent casing appears to be comprised of diamond glass. Comparing with bomb data, your explosives will not crack the outer shell."

Bunnie hissed in aggravation, but Sally didn't despair just yet anyway. "Nicole, are the connections also diamond-glass protected?"

"…Negative."

Sally nodded, and waved for her friends to follow her. The three of them quickly ran across the huge cavern. Of course, what would have taken Sonic all of a second, took them nearly five minutes. The device itself was huge, easily capable of containing a dozen or more Mobians in its diamond-glass double-dome, which vaguely resembled a short, fat Mobian itself. The glow was all but blinding, however, with violent white light flaring in renewed waves of power and noise. The glass, however, was set in a large, black-metal base, with large pipes connecting to the even larger pipes feeding back along the outer walls of the chamber. Sally pointed around the base, looking back to her comrades. "Place the charges at the connections. We can probably start a cave in and cut this thing off."

Antoine and Bunnie quickly hurried around the left side, Antoine starting ahead of the cyborg, and Sally started where she was on the right, working toward the back. After just a few seconds, she was nearly done with her charges, and she could see Antoine closing toward her. She touched her ear. "Dulcy, things are wrapping up. Be ready to come pick us up."

"Ready and waiting, Sally. I'll dive in from the top at your signal."

Sally paled a bit, but nodded before remembering to speak, "Thanks, understood."

Antoine placed his last one, and grinned at her, marveling at his accomplishment. Sally gave him a playfully fond smile, and then looked past him to see Bunnie give a thumbs up with her metal hand. The leader of the resistance nodded sharply, and waved to the front of the cavern. The three rebels ran around the machine, and started to sprint for the exit. "I'll blow the charges when we're clear of the canyon. No point taking risks with the collapse," she explained quickly, a bit short of breath.

"Good thinkin', Sally-girl!"

"Oh yes, vera good thinking, ma Prinzess!"

Sally was just smiling at them when a bit of motion ahead of them made her snap her eyes forward. Horror flashed across her face, Bunnie and Antoine gawking as the huge gate suddenly slammed shut with a shuddering crash. The three resistance fighters skidded to a halt.

"No!" Sally's heart sank through her stomach. "Oh no… no, please no… It's a trap!"

Out on the plains, ripping down through one of the last remaining bots, Sonic unraveled, and slammed to a halt on the ground, holding one hand to his ear as his face locked in urgent concern. "Sal? Talk to me!"

Dulcy was holding a hand to hear ear as well, her face etched with fear, but down in the cave, Sally couldn't think of what to say.

Bunnie and Antoine looked to her, and she just shook her head weakly. "M-Maybe… move the charges to the door?"

Bunnie raised her arms out to the sides. "But that'll bring the whole place down even faster!"

"We trapped!" Antoine wailed. "It is the end of everything! I am being too young to die!"

Bunnie actually swatted him from behind with her metal hand, glaring at him as he slammed into the cave floor. "Now is _not_ the time to panic, Antoine!"

"Oh," a malicious voice they all knew too well drew the simple sound out with dark relish, "I think it is quite the appropriate time to _panic_, my little, semi-roboticized friend."

Sally, Antoine (on his knees), and Bunnie twisted to look at the back of the chamber. The 'energy drive' dimmed quite a bit, perfectly low enough to look at directly, and a holographic screen of Robotnik's face appeared floating just above and in front of it. He was grinning. "You see, I knew your little resistance couldn't 'resist' coming out here to wreck a new facility of mine, especially with a big, glowing, flashy contraption at the back to distract your speedy little hero." He cackled at the good of his own plan.

Sally raised her fist up at his screen. "Sonic's on his way, Robotnik! A door won't hold up against him for very long!"

Robotnik calmed, but was still smiling. "Oh, I'm counting on it, Princess… You see the door is only there to keep the hedgehog _out_ for… a bit of time. I want him to _see_ you when my little experiment is done with you. Indeed…"

Bunnie was beginning to know how Antoine felt, and it was not a pleasant sensation. She looked over to her best friend, and the squirrel finally looked back to her with real fear rushing behind her eyes.

"The charges," Bunnie finally said, firming her voice.

Sally turned stoic as well. "Right."

They sprinted back toward the energy core, Antoine blinking, and then sprinting after them. "Wait, wait! I am coming to 'elp, ma Prinzess!"

"No waitin', just keep up!" Bunnie shouted back.

Robotnik let his smile grow back into a grin. "Perfect." And the holoscreen winked out of existence. Instead, part of the rock landing that supported the energy core, right at the front, split apart, and a platform started to rise out of it.

When they saw what it was, the three rebels slowed to a stop. Sally's eyes were wide, and she actually took a step back. "I-it can't be… S-Sonic isn't… here…"

"I'm comin', Sal!" Sonic shouted, holding his ear, as he ripped down into the valley, leaping into a saw and slamming into the front gate… but it was very thick metal.

Bunnie eased back on her right foot as well. "S-Sally-girl… If the door's for keepin' the Sugar-hog _out_, then…?"

They couldn't take their eyes off of it… Standing on the risen platform with horrible, unnatural calm, it was crafted of black, layered metal with silver joints, details, and a sharp, ridged face-plate under dimmed optics. The large head was sleek and sharp, especially with the razor-fin of blades coming down from the top, onto the back.

Metal Sonic suddenly flashed his red pupils, and the same, horrible, rushing roar filled the chamber as his back-blade revved to life. A smooth, dark voice started to speak. "Acquiring targets. Priority 1: Resistance fighters. Order by proximity." The optics snapped into focus on Sally. "You're standing close enough, Princess."

Sally twisted, starting to run. Bunnie and Antoine couldn't even twitch before a boom shook the cavern, the air roared from something moving too fast, and Sally yelped horribly. The squirrel woman was dangling in the air by her neck, one cold, hard hand clamped around it as red optics bore into her widened, watering eyes. She clenched her hands around the articulated wrist, and started kicking at him wildly, but Metal Sonic simply let her ping her boots off his hard chest.

Metal actually pulled her down into his face with malicious patience, his optics narrowing into her eyes. His back-blade revved abruptly, and his hand started to squeeze with mechanical force. Sally gurgled, jerking violently as she tried to regain the ability to breathe, clawing at his arm and kicking at his front as powerfully as she could. Even worse, his hand kept squeezing. She didn't doubt her head would simply _pop off_ before he was done.

"_Back OFF!_"

Two loud clangs rang out as Bunnie came out of her side-flip, ramming each foot into the side of Metal's head. It knocked his head out to his left, but his optics calmly drew their focus onto her, his hand releasing Sally. The squirrel was still falling as Bunnie fired her elevation extenders, her feet ramming off like pistons, shooting the robot across the cave and into the far pipe before her back hit the floor as well. Sally landed to all fours, coughing and holding her throat, tears in her eyes from the pain and fear. Grasping her right ear, she rasped hoarsely, "It's after us! Sonic, help!"

The buzz-saw at the door suddenly whirred with ungodly speed, and the metal started to melt immediately around it.

Bunnie retracted her feet, and picked herself up with a dark grin as Antoine ran to Sally's side. She shook her head to his concerned questions, and looked up at Bunnie as the cyborg turned to her with a lighter smile. "See? He ain't so tough--?"

"_BUNNIE!"_

It had been instant. Bunnie was standing in front of her, grinning, and then she was just gone. Sally's brain took a full second to register the path her friend had taken, ahead of a black and silver streak roaring through the air in the chamber.

Bunnie had gasped on impact, her left arm nearly ripping out of its socket as some horrendous force yanked it behind her. Able to regain her focus, she looked down, and saw Metal Sonic, his claws digging into her forearm, charging for the opposite wall with unremitting focus in his unnatural gaze.

In reality it was barely two seconds from hit to stop, but Bunnie was moving on instinct, not plan. She knew the wall was coming up, and she wrenched her mechanical legs backward, _into_ the oncoming impact. Metal's self-preservation programming made him halt just close enough to slam her into the wall, not himself, and so the result was Bunnie crashing to her haunches completely counter to gravity's pull. The wall shattered on impact, the metal pipe ripping apart in her wake… but she held, and looked up into Metal Sonic's glowing gaze with a firm smirk. "You wanna mash metal, darlin'? _Bring it_!"

She kick-flipped out of the crater, and came down on his head with her heels, rotating completely at her robotic shoulder to do so. Metal Sonic's head slammed down into a crater in the ground of its own making, his hands releasing her arm, but leaving deep holes where his digits had dug in. Bunnie flipped off, and slammed to a more natural crouch behind him. She stood up and twisted around, her eyes widening.

Metal just stood back up, and turned around, his optics flashing with a fresh rev of his back-blades. The gate over to Bunnie's left was starting to glow white hot in the center, but Sonic wasn't through yet. Metal burst again, but Bunnie had a shot. With her mechanical legs spread, she caught his motion enough to dodge down to her left as Sally and Antoine watched in fearful awe.

But something worse happened. Bunnie's eyes flared with a deep, heart-wrenching wave of fear as a vice-like clamp crushed around her right wrist… her normal, healthy arm. "No!" she gasped instantly, meeting Metal's eyes along the path of their now-linked arms.

It was almost like he smiled with his solid faceplate, and slammed down to a landing just behind her. With a yank, spinning her around, his left arm was holding her organic one up and out to the side as he looked into her eyes. The optics flashed as her left arm tried to attack him, the back-blade revved, and he leapt into the air. Her punch missed, and she looked up as his body coiled up into a buss-saw of black and silver, his arm still holding her natural one out from her body.

Sally went hollow. "_Bunnie, no!_"

Metal Sonic ripped down through the air, and skidded to a halt just past Bunnie's right, a little behind her. His optics flashed, and sharpened with evil pleasure. He'd been too fast, Bunnie was still airborne. Her robotic arm and both legs were still flying apart along the twisted path of his razor-sharp body. Pain twisted Bunnie's lovely face, fear ripping the air out of her lungs, and her soft hand clawed at empty air as she started to fall forward.

Her torso slammed into the cave floor as the remains of her three limbs smashed and rained down around her. Servo-fluid, oil, and hydraulics started to pool on the ground beneath her, but Bunnie's hand clenched the dirt… and she screamed in pain, water pouring out of her eyes.

Dulcy's eyes watered at the sound, completely lost, not knowing how to help her friends who desperately needed it. The gate was starting to shake the entire canyon wall from the forces ripping into it as the scream sounded out.

In the cave, Sally snapped, seeing her best friend in the most hellish pain imaginable. The princess suddenly grabbed Antoine, and yanked him behind her by the shoulder. "Hey!" she roared, rising to her feet.

Metal Sonic focused on her, his back-blade revving.

"That's right, you scum-sucking, rusting, bolt-ridden monster! You want me, don't you?"

The optics narrowed. "Oh, yes."

Sally saw the robot brace. "Antoine! Get Bunnie!" The cold ferocity in her voice evoked no dispute, but she'd underestimated the effect of Bunnie's scream on her usually cowardly friend.

Antoine growled, his body shaking as he rose up behind the princess, and Metal ripped off. The fox dashed for Bunnie… just as the gate burst apart, liquid-hot metal splattering the entry-way as a blue beam appeared across the cave and slammed straight into the black and silver one aiming for Sally.

The Princess almost shivered from relief of her own fear, but then focused on the colliding speed-masters with renewed shock as she heard a sound she'd never imagined before. Sonic roaring in near-berserk rage as he grappled with the robotic copy in the middle of the cavern.

Antoine was ignoring all of this, however. He slammed to his knees beside Bunnie, just past the severed remains of her left arm, and grabbed her trembling body, pulling her up in his arms. Bunnie cried out in a fresh wave of pain, shivering in his arms as she grimaced, her eyes shut against the tears pouring out of them. Antoine's face melted. "Mademoiselle Bunnie…"

Suddenly her hand clawed into his shirt, and clenched into a fist. She was trembling, but this time with focus. Her jaw rigid from the pain, she looked into his eyes. "I-I…need… help…"

Antoine nodded for her, and wrapped his arms around her body, letting her hook hers over his neck, and stood up. She was disturbingly light without three limbs connected to her body. Looking over to the others at least, feeling Bunnie's tears start to seep into his shoulder, he saw the warring hedgehogs in the center.

Sonic kept trading feet with Metal, neither letting the other start building speed. Metal, however, was just trying to get Sonic out of the way, his optics locked on Sally. "Priority 1, resistance fighters. Princess Sally."

"_SONEEK!_"

It was not the voice either Sally or Sonic expected to hear scream with urgency and a fair bit of rage as well. Sonic glanced past Metal, Sally blinking over at him, as the fox held Bunnie tightly to his front. "We must LEAVE!"

It all clicked, everybody knew he was right, he'd just been the only one able to see it first. Sonic spin-kicked Metal in the chin, and flickered. Sally yelped, but then held onto Sonic's hand tightly, and as they rushed around the room, she grabbed the shoulder of Antoine's back-pack. Bunnie and Antoine clung to each other like vices, the fox being yanked off his feet, and the four of them streaking for the exit.

Metal Sonic was correcting even as Sonic picked up Sally, and the robot blazed after them almost as soon as they could get away from him. Antoine felt his pack slipping, and so he risked letting go with one arm, and clamped his hand around Sally's wrist. She let go of his bag, and gripped his forearm with her hand, the two sharing a grim camaraderie in the moment with a glance. Sonic, however, reached to his ear with his free hand. "Dulcy! Fly to the far end of the valley! He's after Sally and the gang, I have to get them air-borne!"

Dulcy cracked the whip, shooting for the end of the canyon. "You want me to _catch_ them?"

"We're out of options here, Dulce!"

She'd never heard him so serious.

With Sally and Antoine looking ahead to what Sonic was doing, preparing themselves for a super-sonic toss, Bunnie lifted her head, and glanced down her good shoulder. Her eyes wavered. "He's gainin'!"

Everyone glanced back, and Sonic actually growled. "Hold on tight! Antoine, do _not_ let go of Bunnie!"

A dark indignation flared in the fox's chest. "I will _not_ be the one letting go, Soneek!"

Sonic ripped a power-ring out of his backpack, and held it forward. It flashed, he was engulfed in light, and he exploded up the valley, seeing Dulcy waiting up in the air at the end. Metal Sonic, however, had a new trick, too. His feet left the ground, and his entire back burst open. A thruster-jet came out, and ignited, ramming him after Sonic, nearly matching his speed yet again, and starting to gain a bit of ground.

Sally looked back, letting horror appear on her face again. "H-he just won't stop!"

"And neither will I!" Sonic growled, ripping up the final bit of shale, near the flat wall at the start of the valley/canyon. "_HOLD ON_!"

Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie tightened their grips on each other, and Sonic suddenly snap-twisted around at full speed, sling-shotting them off like a bolt. Dulcy was dipping down to catch them, but Metal Sonic was already diverting course to intercept the arcing trio, linked only by their arms, all three of them shouting in panic.

But Metal wasn't paying attention to his inspiration. Sonic's eyes were locked on the robotic double, and his power ring was still in his hand. He revved off the shale, and shot off like a cannon-ball, flying to meet the robot head-on.

"Yo, chrome-dome!"

Metal Sonic finally glanced down… only to twitch, flare his optics, and start sparking with waves of energy and light.

Sonic sneered in his face, the power-ring lodged half-way into the robot's chest. "I just gave you a hand-brake. Now let me show you a full stop!"

And with than he took a page from Tail's book, and actually whirled his legs around in a blast of wind, ramming them both back down into the valley.

Dulcy's face was tensed with focus, and she finally angled just right, catching Sally and Antoine on her back. It was unsteady for a moment, but she finally leveled out, and Antoine and Sally held Bunnie between them, the poor rabbit still trembling, and near passing out from the pain. Seeing her friend up close in such a terrible state renewed Sally's cold ire. "Dulcy! Fly after Sonic. I need to see when he's clear." She pulled the bomb-trigger out of her pack, gripping it in her hand.

Dulcy didn't even speak, she just flew.

Sonic drove Metal all the way back down the alley, his teeth bared in a furious grimace, ignoring the pain building his wearied muscles. The robot was twitching violently, and sputtering gibberish.

"P-Priority 1, resistance f-fighters! S-Sally, Princess… Princess Acorn, Sally! Bunnie! Antoine! Distance… Sally!" Then his voice shifted, completely unconnected to his current situation. His data was replaying randomly, and he saw Sally rising to her feet to pull him away from Bunnie. "Want… Sally…" He twitched. "Yes. Want."

Sonic roared, blasting into the cave again, and drove the robot clear through until he rammed into the power drive at the far end. The robot splayed against the diamond glass, his back-blades revving and grinding off the impenetrable bubble. The power-ring lodged in his chest was starting to melt through his systems as Sonic kept grinding him against the glass, his legs still going at full speed.

"For what you did…" Sonic rasped. "For what you did to Bunnie, to Sal…" He looked up. The machine was already dying, it was just twitching from the unbelievable power of the ring embedded in its core systems. Sonic nodded grimly, and then twisted, ripping through the cave. He held a hand to his ear. "Sal! Blow it!"

Seeing the blue streak blast out of the ruined gate from above, Sally nodded, and firmly squeezed the control.

Computers thought so much faster than an organic could. In those last split-seconds before the explosion, Metal's programming started to break down. The footage of Sonic, of Sonic's friends, of Bunnie, Sally, Antoine, and the others kept bleeding through his dying circuits. Sally smiling at Sonic, the engine in his own programming for mimicking the hedgehog's abilities and tactics. Then the targeting programming, his priorities. It kept interspersing at incredible speed, blending together into an unintelligible mess.

As the bombs sparked, and flames, heat, and force started to take the entire area apart at the near-molecular level, it all poured into a simple combination of a data-file of Sally smiling at Sonic, and the targeting program. "…Want… Sally…"

His head was replaced by a shower of thousands of tons of boulders, followed by a blinding flash as the power drive finally went critical.

Sonic was speeding along the plains below, Dulcy flying above, but they all turned to look when the horizon turned white behind them.

Sally was the first to look back down, Bunnie's head in her lap. Mercifully, the woman had passed out at last. The princess was just gently stroking the fur on her face, and smoothing out her ears, sniffing quietly. Antoine could say nothing, only look down in a deep, heartfelt shame for not preventing this somehow. For once, even Sonic was silent was he sped home with them.

Dulcy glanced back though, and finally muttered, "We… we can help her, right?"

Sally titled her head enough to see Dulcy over one shoulder. With a subtle shake of her head, she weakly managed, "I don't know."

"M-monsieur Rotor…?" Antoine offered quietly, looking up at the Princess.

Sally smiled gently. "We'll do everything we can. I think we'll call Uncle Chuck in on this one."

Sonic finally perked up a bit. "Yeah! Great idea, Sal! I'll juice into Robotropolis now!"

Sally started to warn him against it, but then looked down at Bunnie her lap. "…Go Sonic. As fast as you can."

His head tilted down. "I'm gone!"

And the air shuddered with a new sonic boom, the blue streak angling off to the heart of all their misery. Sally finally just leaned down, and kissed Bunnie's forehead before softly touching her cheek to the side of her friend's soft face, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Bunnie… I'm so… so sorry…"

(The dark city…)

Snively shivered weakly, and didn't even want to turn around from his screens reporting the completely destruction of the unknown-area facility. He just did not want to see the horrible attack from his uncle he knew was coming. And he waited… And waited. Finally, he turned around carefully, and blinked at the sight.

Robotnik was… smiling. The mad man finally twisted his throne around to see Snively. "Did you see that, Snively?"

"Yes, sah…"

"Did you see their misery?" His fist closed, and shivered with force.

Snively blinked.

Robotnik started to laugh… low and ominously. "The hedgehog got lucky this time, Snively. Can we recover anything from the site?"

The smaller man picked up a databoard. "Unlikely, sah. Most of the canyon came down on top of the wreckage."

"No matter, we shall simply rebuild." Robotnik rotated the chair back to the large screens, replaying the fight, one only cycling Bunnie's dismemberment. "I've found the hedgehog's weakness, Snively." The tyrant started to sneer. "His dear little friends…"

(Author's Note)

Thanks for the positive reviews. Good feedback always makes writing a story more enjoyable. The type of drama I'm going for is really established with this chapter, combining some very serious trauma with the characters we know and love, showing how they respond under very real stress. I hope the results depicted are satisfying for other fans.

Thank you for reading. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. If anything in the story turns you off, a review stating why would be greatly appreciated.


	4. Recovery

Chapter 4: "Recovery"

"Rotor? Rotor!" Sally yelled across Knothole as she carried Bunnie in her own arms. Poor Dulcy was still trying to pick herself up from her last landing near the trees, but Antoine was running along behind the princess, his eyes anxiously focused on the lolled head of their badly injured friend on Sally's shoulder.

By the near-panic in the resistance-leader's voice, Rotor was running out onto the grass in seconds. "What's wro--? Oh no… Get her to a bed! I need to grab the schematic sketches I made and my tools!" He'd only given himself time for a glance, already sprinting for his workshop, pointing back to Bunnie's own cottage for the princess.

Sally sped up, almost plowing through Bunnie's door. She was a bit surprised to find Antoine right there, yanking it open properly for her. She ran inside, and put Bunnie down on the bed. The woman's ears flopped too limply onto the pillow when her head landed, and it made Sally tear up afresh, patting an unconscious cheek from the bedside. "It'll be okay, Bunnie…"

Rotor was stumbling through the door not a minute later, which startled the princess again. Even Sonic took a few seconds to get to the warehouse and back. The walrus was wasting no time, however, and he just ran over, taking Sally by the shoulders and with a combination of urgency and trying to be polite to a friend, he pulled her out the way. He had scrolls of detailed mechanical sketches of Bunnie's three limbs, and a large tool-box, which he let down on the ground as he started to examine the jagged, shattered remains.

"She's in so much pain, Rotor…" Sally breathed.

"I know," he replied, but his voice was much faster, still short of breath. "I'm tracking down the pain-receptors and shutting them down. It's not like she needs to feel them when there's nothing there to use."

Antoine finally blinked in confusion, looking to the princess. "B-But why? Why are the metal limbs feeling anything at all?"

Sally turned to him gravely. "Bunnie explained it to me. She could still feel with them, it was just less accurate than her own body. It's the only way to have the limbs function without some kind of manual control system."

"If they are less of the sensitive, why is she in so much terreeble pain?"

Rotor answered this time, his voice dark. "Even a weak sensor can overload, Antoine. What did this?"

Sally's shoulders sank. "…Another Metal Sonic robot. It… it went straight for us, and actually tried to ignore Sonic this time."

Rotor paused in his work for a heart-beat, eyes widened, but then shook his head free of the distraction. Bunnie's pain would be _gone_ if he could do anything about. Working from a combination of memory and quick checks on the schematics, he was already tinkering with her shoulder joint.

"Sonic is getting Uncle Chuck as we speak," Sally offered, hoping it would give Rotor something positive to think about.

Rotor did relax faintly. "That's good, Sally. Real good. I can stop the pain… I hope, but giving her new limbs is something I'll need a lot of help with."

Sally's face lit up. "You can?"

Rotor's face remained tight. "I don't know, but as sure as Robotnik's little black heart is gonna stop beating one day, I'm gonna do everything I can."

It sobered the princess' hopes, but she smiled calmly at Rotor's determination. She knew he had a soft spot for Bunnie, who had always appreciated his help with her robotic limbs, and it looked like it was spurring the walrus into a very powerful wave of activity.

"…Aunt Sally?"

Sally jerked, and twisted on her heel, running to the doorway before Tails could come inside completely. "Tails! Tails, sweetie, don't come in yet!"

She startled the poor boy with her backward pushing, but she was trying to smile and hug him at the same time. "You don't want to see this yet, trust me."

Tails was completely confused, but he knew something very serious was going on. "What's wrong? Where's Aunt Bunnie or Sonic?"

Still smiling warmly for the boy now that they were out on the grass, the princess spoke with more calm in her manner. "Sonic is out getting Uncle Chuck and bringing him back here."

Tails smiled, happy to hear that Uncle Chuck was finally coming back to Knothole, but he could see it. Something in Sally's eyes. "…Where's Aunt Bunnie?"

Her smile couldn't hold. She knew what it would cause in the little one in front of her. She knelt down, her face serious, and said, "She got hurt, Tails. We're doing everything we can, that's why Sonic is bringing Uncle Chuck here."

The fox boy's eyes were fearfully wide. "I-is she gonna be okay, Aunt Sally? Is she…?"

Offering a gentle smile, Sally kissed his nose, and embraced him. "Rotor's making sure the pain is gone. She'll live through it, Tails, don't worry about that. It's just really serious, and I don't want you to be scared by how she looks."

"I want to see her!"

The force and sincerity that suddenly exploded out of the little one startled Sally, and she pulled back. Tails was looking up into her eyes, his own watering, but there was an almost adult determination in his entire frame. "I need to see Aunt Bunnie! Please!"

Sally hesitated. Her first instincts told her it would be stupid to let the poor boy see Bunnie in such a state, for both their sakes, but the look in his eyes… More serious, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, Tails. Listen to me very closely."

He almost seemed to freeze, looking in her eyes.

"She is _very_ seriously hurt. It looks very bad. If you get scared, I'm taking you out of there immediately, understand?"

Tails nodded, but his expression hadn't shifted. Hiding her concern for the change in the little boy, Sally stood up, and placed a hand to his back, pushing him inside with her. It took a few seconds for him to get a good look, Rotor working on the left hip joint by that point. Sally waited anxiously, but Tails just pressed his quivering lips together, and hurried around the foot of the bed. Rotor glanced up, but saw the boy reach over, and just take hold of Bunnie's remaining hand, and bow his little head into the bed beside her.

The others, even Antoine, found the sight both terribly sad and wonderfully sincere at the same time. He just wanted to be with her when she was hurting. Even Rotor just focused back on his work.

And then a wonderfully familiar sound reached their ears. Air splitting around a super-sonic hero. Sally and Antoine ran outside, just in time to see Sonic skid to a halt, with Uncle Chuck holding onto his neck from behind. The roboticized but sapient old friend quickly walked around, his blue and gray metal body strangely welcoming with his bushy eyebrows and mustache. Even his red optics were friendly, but concerned at the moment. "Where is she?" his gruffer voice asked first thing. Sonic didn't even speak yet, which worried Sally for the blue hero.

"The cottage. Rotor's helping."

Uncle Chuck just nodded, and moved right for it. At the doorway, he paused. "Great shades of Mobius…" He quickly moved to the foot of the bed. "What do you need, Rotor?"

"It's good to hear your voice, Sir Charles. Her right thigh/hip joint. Dial the pain-receptors down. She doesn't need them right now."

The roboticized hedgehog just nodded, his finger-tips changing into mechanical tools, and didn't even try to disturb the little fox holding Bunnie's hand as she lay unconscious. He just got to work.

Outside, Antoine quietly stepped back into the cottage, but Sally stayed out with Sonic. He looked at the small house himself, then looked down, and started to walk toward a little tree-stump chair some distance away, near a fireplace that had been used the previous night.

Knowing she couldn't help Bunnie any more than she was already getting, Sally carefully walked along behind the hedgehog, and let him set himself down on the stump before even bothering to speak. She'd never seen him like this. His frame was limp, his face flat, his eyes staring down into nothing. Even his spines seemed to be limp down his back.

Sally exhaled gently, and stepped a bit closer. "Sonic… it wasn't your fault."

"I wasn't fast enough," he only said, his voice horribly calm.

She knelt down beside him. "No, Sonic. It was your speed that saved our lives, yet again. You can't be everywhere at once. This was always a danger, with every mission. For G'd's sake, Sonic, at least she's not dead!" Sally kept her voice low, but it rushed with emotion.

"She would be if he'd aimed for her head. Oh!" he suddenly snapped his head down, holding it with both hands. "I knew that stupid place was too obvious! I should've just blitzed in there alone and wrecked it!"

Sally gripped his left arm. "Sonic! Sonic, calm down! I would have been furious with you for taking that facility on without our help. It would have been stupid. Remember what we said? It was too risky to let it go! We knew it might be a trap! If that's what nearly killed Bunnie, then we're both to blame!"

It got his attention as she knew it would. He stared at her, and then shook his head. "Sal, you're the one that saved her. I could hear what was going on near the end there, I heard you draw it off her."

Sally turned very serious. "But he only attacked her because she knocked him away from me. He was focused on me at the start, Sonic. If I hadn't panicked, I might have been thinking more clearly, and Bunnie wouldn't be hurt anywhere near as badly as she is. All of us made mistakes in hindsight, but we've never pulled off a mission without someone making some kind of mistake. It's just the way it is. This time, the mistakes cost Bunnie too much. We have to move forward, not stop."

This caught him. He calmed, glancing off. "…Not stop."

His dear princess shook her head with a subtle smile. "Not stop."

Sonic finally laughed a bit. "Well that's good. You know me and stopping."

She giggled. "Never happens."

He winked.

(Later…)

Was she still dreaming? That horrible, burning, bone-grinding pain was finally gone. She also felt… light, small. Her left hand itched a bit, but wasn't it metal? Her brow tightened faintly, but felt soft weight keeping her right hand down on smooth bed-covers. Yes, she was awake. Bunnie moaned gently, and started to pull her eyes open. Her mind started to clear, and she remembered the fight, then pieces of their retreat. The pain had muddled a lot of her memories, but she had enough. What was keeping her hand down, though?

She started to look down to her right, and tried to pretend she didn't see the jagged metal where her legs were supposed to be. Then it was easier for her to focus elsewhere. A deep mixture of sorrow and adoration softened her tired face into a pout as she saw Tails, fast asleep, huddled against the bed, still holding her hand. The bed-covers were still damp under his eyes.

Not sure if it would wake him or not, she squeezed his little hand with her own, and stroked the fingers with her thumb. "You're a real trooper, darlin'," she whispered, her eyes watering gently. It was only then she actually realized other people were still in her cottage, but she didn't want to look away from Tails yet. She heard Sally, Rotor, and even Uncle Chuck speaking very softly near the door, none of them actually looking in her direction for that moment.

Tails, however, did react to her soft squeeze. The boy shifted gently at first, sniffed, and moved his nose down into the bed first, then drowsily pulled his head up. As soon as his tired little eyes met Bunnie's tired, but warm smile, his face lit up like a star. "Aunt Bunnie, you're awake!"

Her friends near the door twisted, their conversation ended instantly. As Bunnie smiled brightly for the little fox, letting him scramble onto the bed and hug her around the shoulders as she patted his little back, Sally held her hands to her mouth, crying gently, both glad and newly saddened. Rotor and Sir Charles just sagged with heart-felt relief. Obviously Bunnie wasn't in physical pain anymore.

On the bed, the wounded freedom fighter smiled through her soft tears, her ears even perking back up, and playfully scratched Tail's hair. He giggled, and sat back from her. "I'm so glad you're awake, Aunt Bunnie…"

She caressed his cheek. "I can see that, little darlin'. You were a brave little freedom fighter to stay with me so long. Now can you do me a big favor?"

He hopped up to attention. Bunnie had to just smile at him for a heart-beat. She knew that in that moment, she could ask him to march up to Robotnik himself and he'd do it in a flash. "Go eat some breakfast, Tails. Or whatever time it is."

He pouted a bit. "I don't want to leave you alone just for that, Aunt Bunnie…"

She gripped his hand, trying not to think about the blunt honesty of what she was about to say, "I'll be right here, darlin'."

Tails understood this time though, and held her hand with both of his again. "Aunt Bunnie…"

"Please, Tails."

His shoulders slumped, but he nodded, and hopped down. He had to give her a wave before he hurried out of the cottage.

Finally, Sally, Rotor, and Sir Charles came up to the bed, all of them gathering on the right side, following Sally's lead as she took hold of Bunnie's hand for herself. Tears were dripping down the squirrel's cheeks. "Oh Bunnie… I'm so sorry…"

Still tired, the bed-ridden rabbit gave a good, strong battle-smirk. "Now what're you apologizin' for, Sally-girl?"

"If I hadn't—" she went silent meekly as Bunnie cut her off.

"Don't even start. I was half-dumb myself with that thing comin' after us, I'm just glad I got the metal monster away from ya for a bit. Three fake limbs is worth that, any day." Knowing Sally was silenced for a moment, she gave the princess a warmer smile, and used her hand to pull Sally further up the bed, but didn't let go as she looked to Uncle Chuck and Rotor. "I'm awful glad to see you again, Uncle Chuck. Rotor… I know you both got rid of the pain. I can't thank y'all enough," her voice dropped into a deeply sincere breath.

Sir Charles, at first, just smiled at her with Rotor, but then he quickly motioned to the walrus. "I was too late this time, Bunnie. Rotor here had you most of the way when I got here. He didn't spare a second of effort."

Rotor blushed quite seriously. "We did it together, Bunnie. I'm just so glad you're not in pain. Are there any problems with them though? Uncomfortable for other reasons?"

Bunnie slowly shook her head. "No, sugar. I can deal with a bit of dead-weight if it'll take that pain away. I couldn't even think straight at the finish there," she admitted guiltily to Sally.

The Princess blinked. "Bunnie, what on Mobius are you apologizing for? _Anyone_ would be out of it after… that…"

Offering a grateful smile, Bunnie squeezed Sally's hand, and tugged gently. Sally almost fell on her with a tight hug, calming a sob as tears seeped out of her clenched eyes. "It's so good to see your eyes open."

Bunnie laughed a bit, but was in tears herself. "I'm sorry I gave y'all such a fright then. It was just pain, honestly."

Sally nodded, but didn't change what she'd said.

Rotor and Sir Charles started to ease away, wanting to give the two friends some time alone. Soon they were waiting outside, and Charles was already muttering to Rotor about how they could best design replacement limbs.

After a few minutes of silent, grateful friendship, Bunnie loosened her arm, and Sally pulled back. The rabbit seemed more serious and concerned, like her normal mission mood. "Where's Sugar-hog, though? He's not hurt, too, is he?"

Sally almost laughed, but it was too sad to not cry some more. "No, no! He's just… He feels awful for what happened. He's been throwing himself into mission planning since last night."

Bunnie's expression turned sympathetic. "Aw, y'all are so guilty about all this." Then she remembered something, a brief moment of peace in the hellish pain. "What about Antoine? He's okay?"

Sally actually winced a bit with uncertainty. "We're… not sure about Antoine. He's been different since we got back. Very serious. He's actually been working with Sonic on mission plans. I mean, it's not like they get along, it just looks like they don't care about fighting right now."

The injured resistance fighter shared her friend's concern. "I guess I better talk to 'em both then." She glanced down at herself, her expression falling.

Sally gave a start, and moved for the door. "I'll go tell them!"

"…Wait, Sally-girl?"

She froze, turning back to Bunnie after the gentle pleading in her voice. Bunnie looked deeply, seriously embarrassed.

"Would ya… would ya mind pulling the covers up over me, please?"

Sally's face fractured with sympathy, and nodded, rushing back to the bed. Bunnie tried to prop herself up, but Sally came in, lifted her up gently by the shoulders, and pulled the bed-covers down to her waist. Letting Bunnie lie back, she pulled them out from under the damaged thighs, and pulled the blanket up to her friend's shoulders. Bunnie adjusted it more to her liking with her remaining arm, and then nodded. "Thank you…"

Sally just smiled, leaned in, and kissed her friend on the forehead. "I should've thought of it myself. Just relax, I'll go get your gentleman," she finished with a wink, and it let both women laugh gently before she hurried out of the cottage.

Bunnie did lean her head back fully, inhaling, and then breathing slowly out through her lips. Her missing hand still itched…

(Later…)

Hearing the click of her door opening drew Bunnie's eyes over to it. She smiled brightly when Antoine and Sonic stepped through. For once, it was remarkable how similarly meek the pair were, and how much they were ignoring the usual irritation they caused each other. Sonic half-smiled, his hands still on the door. "Hey, Bunnie… Sal said you wanted to see us?"

Bunnie nodded. "Come on over, y'all. I hear ya been feelin' awful after that metal monster got to me."

Both men came up to her bed, and it seemed instinctive for people to come up on the right side, with her remaining arm. Sonic was closest. Indeed, Antoine seemed fearful of coming too close.

At first, Bunnie was just going to tell them she understood what had happened, and that she didn't even feel like she could blame them for it, but she was startled when they both started to speak.

Antoine dropped to his knees at her bedside, and started to kiss her hand. "Please forgive me, mademoiselle Bunnie. I was not knowing how to protect you! Please, I can not bare eet…"

Sonic, who normally rolled his eyes as Antoine's ogling and groveling with women, just put a hand on Bunnie's shoulder, his eyes shining more than usual. "I should've been there sooner, Bunnie. Blast it, I should've taken that place out on my own when I first spotted it."

Honestly at a loss with the two of them gushing over her as much as they were, Bunnie glanced from Antoine to Sonic and back several times, her mouth hanging slack as she tried to think of what to say first.

"H-Hold on there, Antoine. My hand can't take much more kissin'," she tried to start with a laugh, trying to smile.

Antoine froze, startled, and jerked back from her hand, bowing his head to the floor. "A thousand apologies, my dear Bunnie. I am most sorry, I only wished to--!"

"Antoine!" Bunnie finally shouted to get his attention, her face more exasperated than angry.

Sonic and he both froze, staring her warily.

Bunnie started to laugh. "It ain't y'all's fault, alright?" She looked from one to the other again. "It's all Robotnik's fault, pure and simple. He gave me metal limbs, and this time he broke 'em off." Sonic winced, Antoine shutting his eyes tightly. He'd seen it happen. "Oh, come on now, both of ya. Just metal and wires, right? At least I didn't lose my only soft one," she actually giggled, raising her arm.

Antoine was still sad, but Sonic finally laughed a bit. "I can't thank you enough, Bunnie. I couldn't've blamed you for hating me, but I couldn't've handled it either…" the hedgehog admitted, bowing his head.

"Aw, Sugar-hog. Come 'ere and gimme a hug."

Sonic did come closer, and was surprised by how powerfully the injured woman could hold him close with one arm. They were both tearing up a bit, and he patted her fur behind her ears. "I know you saved Sal, too. I owe you big time for all of it, Bunnie," he whispered to her.

Bunnie smirked, patting his back around the spines. "You've done it for us all dozens a-times now, Sugar-hog. You don't owe me a thing."

They parted with a soft laugh, both smiling, and then Bunnie focused down on Antoine, who was still kneeling beside the bed. She offered her hand, the palm up. "Come 'ere, Antoine. You were there for me, you got me off the ground. I remember."

He started to cry outright, but came over to her, and embraced her. "I could not spare you the pain…" he whispered tightly.

"No one could have if you hadn't gotten me outta there with Sally-girl, Sugar-hog, and Dulcy. I couldn't a-asked for more, sugar. Stop cryin' for me, you did good. Real good." But she was tearing up again herself.

He managed to nod, pulling away and sniffling.

Bunnie wiped her eyes. "Now go on, both y'all. Can't hold up the resistance 'cause of a one little ole Bunnie."

Sonic smirked. "Who else would we do it for?" They shared a smile before he winked, "But you're right. Come on, Ant. Let's wrap up those plans and start pounding Robotnik."

"For once, Monsieur Soneek, we are agreeing completely."

Bunnie giggled, and waved as the pair hurried out, getting back to work.

(Down, down in the deep…)

Far away from Knothole, far away from Robotropolis, the shattered valley was silent as the grave… on the outside. Through the dozen-ton slabs of rock, endless dirt, and across the wrecked metal, the husk of the power-drive unit was still there, looming in the darkness. A small cave had formed from the collapse. Large boulders formed pseudo-supports between the low roof and gravelly floor, but in fact they were the biggest signs of the structure's weakness.

Everywhere, warped black metal and silver specks poked out of the loose rubble, but there was a particular concentration of it near the power-drive, just beyond a large boulder and a small hill of dirt and rocks. The warped, broken remains of Metal Sonic… the power-ring still lodged in his chest.

Any Mobian in the resistance would have known something was wrong. Power-rings vanished after they were used, bursting into energy and fading away when Sonic was done with them. Yet this one remained, almost sticking out of the wreck's back, lying on its stomach as it was. The head was in pieces across the floor, the arms and legs all but vaporized, but that blade-fin was still mostly visible, simply motionless.

Something had changed around the power-ring. Lodged through the torso as it was, the occasional spark still snapped off its sides, but there was more. Parts of the metal, wiring, and power-core system had fused to the ring. At first glance, one would assume the heat of the explosion simply melted them all together, but there were no other signs of scorching.

And then, finally, after hours and hours of silence, one of the optics lying off on the ground, scattered away from the body, but connected by some wiring, flashed to life with a soft chime. The power-ring glowed very faintly, and the fused wiring started to heat up.

The memory banks and processing system started to activate, requiring the least power. Badly damaged, they started to blend fragments of data together. The footage of Sonic's strategies started to link with the behavioral sub-routines, Metal's own wire-frame overlapping with Sonic's grinning face.

Targeting programs flickered between Sonic himself, to each of his friends, then the priority memory returned, and uploaded Sally and Bunnie before focusing on Sally's face. This triggered more personal data showing Sally smiling at Sonic during missions in Robotropolis. The wire frame overlapped with Sonic suddenly copied into the cycling footage, and showed Sally smiling at the linked data.

--Acquire targets. Primary objective.--

Sally again, this time in his crushing grip, then screaming as he took Bunnie toward the wall, again when he ripped the woman's metal limbs off.

_You want me, don't you!_

--Yes…--

Then her smiling at the linked data again.

--Acquire target… Want… Sally.—

The optic flickered, and then it started. The metal strewn throughout the cave started to shift subtly. Wires pulled together like lazy worms, large plates began to shift, scraping over rocks, all as the power-ring started to glow more brightly.

--Acquire…--

Her smile.

--Want…--

It showed Sonic pulling Sally at high speed, the two sharing a smile over his shoulder.

--Want… Sally…--

Audio data started to play. Sonic's voice muttering random phrases. At first it was all gibberish, but then key phrases started to repeat.

_Hey, Sal!_

_I've gotta juice, Sal!_

_Sal! I'm comin'!_

--Acquire… Sal…--

All the metal started to move faster, some pieces actually flying across the small pebbles, and flipping down onto the pile around the ring. The optics and pieces of the head started to pull back toward the torso.

The power-ring suddenly surged, flaring with light, and the memory system rushed with data. The rush of wind through spines, relief as Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine flew out to be caught by Dulcy, and righteous fury as the ring rammed into Metal's torso. The alien data started to process with the programming, aberrant links, and data-recordings of the resistance fighters.

--Acquire. Locate. _Fight! _Destroy targets. Priority 1. Resistance fighters. Priority 1. Acquire resistance fighters… Priority 1. Want. Sal.—

Wires started to pull into metal, metal melded together. Stranger still, parts of the diamond glass started to fragment and roll down toward the power-ring. The power-ring itself suddenly started to vibrate, rattling the entire chamber before it ripped up into the air, pulling everything with it. The metal, wires, gears, and hydraulics were all yanked vertically, engulfing the power-ring… and then whole mass slammed back down into the ground as the light from the ring vanished.

But the sounds continued. Ominously grinding metal, popping clicks, and then…

Red optics flared to life with a soft pulse of power, just before the cave cried with the horrible, sheering roar of the blade-fin. This time, however, the ripping roar echoed and thrummed more powerfully. There was more than one.

And then a metal hand reached out, the fingers clicking and clenching into a fist as lines of white light bled out through the cracks in the metal, finely detailed and intricate. It rushed to life in a wave, the entire body alive with black metal, hints of silver, and smooth curves and discs of diamond-glass flaring with white light.

It was not the robot Robotnik built, it was not programmed according to his rules. The eyes flashed brighter, the three blade-fins on the back of his head revved violently, and then he looked up. The air around him started to distort, his vented, bladed face-plate gushing mist. "Comin' Sal," his deeper, rasping voice rushed out, and a blinding flash of light preceded the roar of crashing rock and dirt.

(Author's Note)

This chapter is more of a stepping-stone than a small stand-alone arc in a greater story, but I thought it was necessary and deserved it's own chapter. Obviously, this is simply handling consequences of the previous chapter, and foreshadowing ominous events with the final part there.

Regarding the two issues macropodathist1 raised. I had an incomplete viewing of the Sonic SatAM series, and the only clear reference I had for the vehicles was Sonic's mocking 'hover-head'. Since they already looked like floating heads to me, I figured they simply had a logical name-source, but I apologize for the error. Bunnie's threat of violence (I assume toward Sonic), was an attempt to show the effect on the characters after getting out of a more extreme situation than they're used to, even in a resistance war. Sonic and Sally were fighting more severely than normal as well, so I thought it fit with Bunnie's independent manner to get Sonic's attention with a grim visual. It was never intended for her to ever actually do it, but that wasn't explicit, so it's a fair point. There may be some sticking points for you later, as well. My apologies. I hope the story is enjoyable anyway.

And thank you all for the reviews. They keep my interest going in a story, and help me finish it. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.


	5. Mirror of Metal

Chapter 5: "Mirror of Metal"

Laughter filled Bunnie's cottage. She was still in her bed, the covers tucked in around her waist, with a bit of cloth wrapped around her left shoulder to make it less unseemly. A raised tray held breakfast for her, complete with a little flower in a bottle (which was intended to be anonymous, but Sally shared that Rotor had placed it on the tray with a wink of her own). Bunnie was laughing, however, because of the little bundle of orange and white fur nestled in her arm, snuggling with her in the bed. Sally, sitting on the foot of the bed on the same side as the little ball of happiness beside her friend, laughed as well, finding Tails' giggling and squirming adorable as Bunnie tickled him around the side.

"Stop, stop!" Tails cried through his giggles.

Bunnie was merciless however, and the little fox was crying with laughter. Finally she ended her assault, and the little boy panted, grinning up at her. They were hugging the next second, and the lady in bed gave him a wiggling squeeze. "You're just too adorable, darlin'!"

The boy grinned again, and Sally was moderating her humor to a gentle smile as she watched. "You two are like peas in a pod these days."

Bunnie winked at her friend. "That's because he's my little trooper. Isn't that right, Tails?"

He raised his fist playfully. "That's right!"

Giving up her attempts at decorum, Sally just giggled like a little girl herself.

The door knocking distracted the three from their happy reverie, and Sally hopped up to get it. Bunnie winked down at Tails, and he scooted off the bed, hurrying around to get the door for the princess before she could reach it. The resistance leader laughed happily, and looked back to Bunnie before returning to the bed herself.

Tails pulled the door open. "Hi Rotor, hi Uncle Chuck!"

The two ladies looked over, already smiling for their old friends, but when it was clear the two men were pushing something into the cottage, they became quite curious. It was large, covered by a red cloth at the moment, and Rotor was pushing it from behind, with Sir Charles walking along behind him, smiling over at Bunnie in particular.

"Good morning, young Bunnie. I must say you look particularly lovely this morning."

Bunnie blushed bashfully, giggling. "Uncle Chuck, you're just an old charmer, aren't ya?"

He winked, and Rotor finally rolled whatever it was up on the left side of the bed. The walrus stood up, smiling happily at Bunnie. "Since your replacement arm and legs are gonna take a while, we decided to build you this, so you can still get around."

Sally and Tails watched with calm curiosity from the foot of the bed, Sally holding the boy in her lap. Bunnie just blinked, her eyebrows up. "My stars, I don't mean to be givin' y'all so much extra work…"

"We're glad to, Bunnie," Rotor offered kindly, Uncle Chuck winking again behind the walrus.

The rabbit blushed gently again, and nodded to Rotor. "Well show me what ya been workin' on, sugar. I'm sure it's great."

Rotor grinned, and yanked the cloth off the contraption. Bunnie's eyes widened at it. At first, it looked like a simple wheel-chair, but it was quite a bit more. The right arm-rest had a control system on the end, and the wheels were clearly motorized. Further, the entire leg area was covered in a smooth cloth sheath that would hide her body from the waist down, as well as support her sitting upright without the legs to push back. Last, up on the left side of the back of the chair, a large drape of the same color waited, to keep her damaged shoulder from being too obvious.

"…Rotor… sugar, this musta used up so much equipment…" Bunnie breathed, but tears were coming to her eyes at the sentiment.

Rotor shook his head. "We had tons of all the parts we used for this, Bunnie. I knew you'd feel bad if it took away any important parts."

Uncle Chuck smirked. "We spent most of the time picking out the parts that would work."

Bunnie blushed again, pouting for them, but Rotor winked. "And it's charged through a solar panel on the back here. The more time you spend rollin' around outside, the more it can do!"

The lucky woman laughed warmly, and reached her arm out. "Gimme a hug, you wonderful walrus."

Rotor blushed, but leaned close to her, and they embraced warmly for a few moments. When he pulled back, Bunnie reached for Uncle Chuck, and he came in close for a hug himself. "You're more than welcome, Bunnie."

Sally was grinning as well. "Can she try it out?"

Rotor waved to the wheelchair. "It's ready to go!"

Bunnie's face lit up. "Really?"

The walrus smiled happily. "Ready and waiting, Bunnie."

Sally was pressing her lips between her teeth to avoid giggling at how like Tails her dear friend had just become. Bunnie reached out. "Oh, please help me into it!"

Rotor, Uncle Chuck, and the little orange blur of Tails all rushed to do exactly that for the injured rebel. Bunnie laughed warmly as they gently pulled her out of the bed, and eased her down into the chair. With her mouth softly agape as she adjusted the cloth covers more comfortably, Bunnie looked around with a smile of happiness they'd not seen in her eyes for a long, long time.

Rotor grinned, gesturing to the controls at her hand. "Just push the stick in the direction you want."

Bunnie nodded, and pushed the stick to the left. The chair smoothly and quickly spun around. She laughed, and rolled around the room almost immediately. "Sugar, this is amazin'!"

Rotor just smiled for her.

Sally, however, hurried to the door, and pushed it open. "Well, come on, Bunnie! What are you waiting for?"

With mischievous glee, Bunnie sped for the door, giving Sally a start. The squirrel playfully yelped, giggling as Bunnie shot past her, and sped out onto the grass, swerving around almost with second nature. Tails, Uncle Chuck, and Rotor hurried out to see, and everyone was relieved to see Bunnie so happy. It was just a stepping stone, but it obviously meant a great deal to her.

(Later…)

Rotor blinked his eyes powerfully a few times, continuing to adjust some small parts inside a pale, narrow device on his work-table. It was mostly covered by a work-cloth, except for the small part he was adjusting. Uncle Chuck stepped up behind the walrus, softly clearing his throat to avoid startling the focused resistance fighter.

"Hey, Uncle Chuck. How's it going on your end?"

The roboticized hedgehog was smiling mischievously. "Just fine, Rotor. Now are you going to take a break and sleep, or is this going to be the second night you don't get enough?"

Rotor sunk his head down a bit, pausing his work, and looked up at the older engineer. "I can't just… relax, Uncle Chuck. Even when I'm trying to sleep, I just think I could be finishing up these replacements."

"That's why we built her the chair, Rotor. She can get around, and you saw how happy she was." He rested a metal hand on the younger rebel's shoulder. "Go sleep, Rotor. We've got enough done to run the shell-designs past her tomorrow."

The walrus sighed, but nodded, and set his tools down. "You're right. Thanks, Uncle Chuck." He stood, the robotic hedgehog patting his back before he left the workshop.

Sir Charles himself replaced some of the plating over what Rotor had been adjusting, and secured I in place. His own face fell sullen. "Even if we make the deroboticizer now…" He shook his head. "We'll think of something. She needs to be informed, though…" A sigh escaped his metal lips. "Why Bunnie?"

The workshop didn't answer his question, but he'd not expected one. He knew the truth. Bad things simply happened, what mattered was how you faced them. So he stretched his stiff joints, some of them creaking, and marched out into the moonlight himself.

(Later…)

It was early the next morning, with Rotor and Uncle Chuck back in the workshop, that Bunnie softly rolled through the door in her new chair. The two men stopped talking abruptly, and grinned for her as she rolled up to them, standing in front of a table with a cover over it, obviously hiding long, narrow objects.

"Now I know you two couldn't 'ave finished those things for me already, so what's goin' on?" Bunnie asked with a knowing smile.

Uncle Chuck stood aside, gesturing to the table, and Rotor gripped the cloth. "We wanted to run the designs by you. They're not ready yet," he was quick to add, "but the shells are."

And he whipped the cloth off. Bunnie blinked, and then her eyes widened gently, her chair rolling quietly up to the side of the table. "…My stars, y'all… Why those are almost fashionable!" she giggled, clearly very happy.

On the table lay her three replacement parts. They were crafted almost entirely of white metals and plastics, with silver hints and hydraulic tubing just visible in the major joints. More directly, they were sleek, slim, and almost the size of Bunnie's original arm and legs.

"They look lovely," the injured rabbit said fondly, looking from one of her friends to the other. "Thank y'all so much!"

Rotor grinned for her, but the shrewd young woman saw something in both of their eyes. She raised an eyebrow. "Fellas, I know they have to have limits. Just talk to me."

Uncle Chuck exhaled softly, thinking how best to prepare her for what he had to say. Rotor spoke in the interim. "They won't be as strong as your original… I mean the first roboticized set."

Bunnie smiled. "Will I be able to walk on two of my own feet?"

The walrus nodded instantly. "Oh yes! Absolutely!"

She winked. "I can't complain about much after that, sugar."

Unsure of himself, Uncle Chuck flashed a big smile, and kept quiet. Rotor, still smiling himself, waved to the new limbs. "So you're happy with the look?"

"Completely, sugar. I really appreciate seeing 'em early and everything."

Both of the hard-working engineers playfully dismissed their work, and she just giggled, backing her chair up. "Well I promised Tails I'd come watch his trainin' with the ole Sugar-hog today, so I don't wanna disappoint the little darlin'."

"Take care, Bunnie," Uncle Chuck said with a nod and wave. Rotor just waved happily, letting her roll out of the workshop. Once he was sure she was out of ear-shot, Uncle Chuck looked to his co-worker. "Rotor, would you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Uncle Chuck."

"Fetch Princess Sally for me, please? I need to speak with her. I'll be in the planning room."

The walrus blinked, but nodded, and hurried out of the workshop. Uncle Chuck exhaled again, and walked into a smaller room, closing the door.

(At the workshop…)

The small door knocked, and Sir Charles pulled back from his desk. "Come in."

Sally peeked her head through, gave him a warm smile, and then entered, closing the door behind her. As she walked up to him, however, she realized he seemed grim. "…What's wrong, Sir Charles?"

The roboticized hedgehog exhaled slowly. "There are a couple of things we need to prepare Bunnie for, and I'm not sure how best to bring them up."

The princess' brow creased. "Go on."

"The replacement limbs will work, though we might need to fine-tune them later. They will, however, never be as strong as her original three. She shouldn't be on front-line duty anymore."

Sally frowned thoughtfully, looking down as she crossed her arms. "Bunnie won't like the sound of that, but I see what you mean."

Charles waited a moment more, and then said, "You know that creating a functional, permanent de-roboticizer will be tricky, right?"

She looked up at him. "Of course. In order to re-compose the organic parts properly, it requires even more detail and precision than the roboticizer itself."

The hedgehog nodded. "It also requires the original base-line matter. What was turned to metal, can be turned back, but only if it's the same metal. It's a bit like pouring a glass of water into a jug, and trying to get the exact same water back out in the glass."

While her mind almost immediately caught on, Sally's heart refused to accept it. Her face went flat, her eyes shimmering with emotion. "No… Don't tell me this…"

Sir Charles looked down sadly.

Sally stumbled up to him, her hand gripping his shoulder to make him look up into her eyes, which were blazing with intensity. "Please, Uncle Chuck. No… She's been through too much."

But her dear Uncle Chuck couldn't lie to her. "She'll be able to walk, but she'll never get her original arm and legs back without her original mechanical limbs."

Tears welled up in the squirrel woman's eyes, and she clamped her jaw shut… but sank to her knees in front of him. Charles leaned over her, and hugged her around the shoulders. "I'll try, Princess. Until Bunnie has the body she was born with, I'll try, but we can't give her false hope…"

"Have you seen it…?" Sally whispered tightly in his arms.

His brow creased. "…Seen what, Princess?"

"Her heart breaking with shame…"

Uncle Chuck let his own sadness show through more fully on his metal face.

Sally continued in a heart-felt, rasping whisper, "She smiles and laughs because she's so strong, but it's always behind her eyes. Even though she knows we don't care, she still feels ashamed. The hope… the hope of getting her own body back has kept her going, Uncle Chuck… If we tell her this…" She started to shake her head, her voice all but gone, "I can't… I can't…"

Sir Charles closed his optics slowly. "…You won't have to, Sally. I'll speak to her myself."

Slender hands clenched around the ridges on his back. "…I'm such a coward…"

"It's not cowardice to want to avoid breaking someone's heart, Sally. She'll learn the truth, you can trust that. I know you'd find the courage if you had to… but you don't have to."

The princess stopped shaking inside his arms, and exhaled slowly… regaining control. "You're so kind, Sir Charles, but I can't back away from this. She's my best friend."

Uncle Chuck let her stand up, sniffing slowly, and blinking her wet eyes as she looked at him seriously. "I'll go talk to her now."

"Such a brave young woman you've grown up to be." He smiled at her.

"Not as much as some…"

He just nodded his agreement to appease her guilt for the moment, and she turned, walking out of the room, and the workshop with focused discipline. Sir Charles turned back to his desk, and pulled out the schematics for a massive device. They were old, but had new markings all over them. He grabbed a marker off the desk as well, and started adding to the newer marks.

He would try.

(Later…)

Sally knocked on Bunnie's door, swallowing. She felt mildly numb, having no doubt she would tell her friend the truth… but after that?

"Sally-girl, that you? Well come on in anyway!" Bunnie's happy voice sang through the air from inside.

The squirrel shut her eyes against the thought of how her friend would sound differently after the news, and pushed inside. She forced a calm smile, and walked up to the bed, where Bunnie was resting, the new chair over against the windowsill to the right of the bed.

Despite the princess' best efforts, it was clear something was wrong. Bunnie's brow creased the moment she laid her green eyes on the squirrel. "…Hey, what's wrong?"

Sally tried to smile again, and come up on the far side of the bed, taking hold of Bunnie's hand. The rabbit woman realized it was very serious. "Bunnie… I have to tell you a couple of things…"

Her friend slowly nodded. "Yeah, alright…"

"…The new limbs will be weaker than the old set… You shouldn't be on the front lines with them."

Bunnie smiled calmly. "I figured that much, darlin'. Being able to walk will be enough for me, I can help out around Knothole more."

Sally desperately wished she could relax with how well her friend took the news. Seeing the remaining guilt and… was it fear? in the squirrel's eyes made Bunnie turn quite serious this time. "…My stars, Sally-girl, you look like you've seen a ghost. Well tell me quick before you drop on me!"

Mobius, how she wished she could laugh at her friend's lovely, happy manner in that moment. Sally swallowed, and spoke with a calm, almost mechanical voice, "Your old metal limbs had the basic components of your original body. Without them, the ability to de-roboticize your arm and legs is… practically non-existent."

Bunnie seemed to slow down for a moment, her hand twitching in Sally's pair. "…What…?"

Sally couldn't hold it any longer. Tears were dripping down her cheeks as she said, "Without the original metal, we can't bring your original body back…"

An angry outburst, outright weeping, furious blaming of all of them for failing her… any of them would have been better than what happened. Bunnie just stared at her, going more numb as the seconds ticked by. Sally adjusted her jaw, trying to avoid sobbing when her friend had the far greater justification for sorrow. "B… Bunnie…"

The injured rabbit woman spoke slowly, her voice soft, but flat. "Sally-girl… would ya mind givin' me some time alone?"

Sally's mouth fell softly agape, her sorrow filling her eyes. _You don't have to be alone!_

"Please…" Bunnie repeated with the same horrible calm.

The squirrel woman had to shut her eyes, and abruptly flee from the room, letting Bunnie's hand fall to the bed and rush through the door, which cracked shut behind her. If she hadn't run, if she hadn't just sprinted for the exit, she never could have done as her friend asked. As it was, the leader of the resistance fled to her own house, her hand clamping over her mouth as she started to sob uncontrollably.

The lights went off in Bunnie's cottage early that night, and no one dared knock on the door. No one knew what they would even say to her, the rest, who didn't know what was happening, didn't want to disturb the house.

(Later…)

Rotor sat back, wiping sweat from his forehead. Uncle Chuck nodded, standing up from leaning over the table. "What do you say, Rotor?"

"There as good as they're gonna get without a test run."

The robotic engineer nodded. "Agreed."

Rotor turned grave. "She hasn't left her cottage since last night." It was late afternoon the next day.

"Hey now. I left it a good half-hour ago, sugar."

Both men gawked at the workshop entrance, seeing a bright, smiling Bunnie in her new chair. Rolling up to them, her ears perky and floppy as usual, the rabbit woman stopped near the work-table. "It's alright, y'all. Sally told me what's goin' on. Did I hear somethin' about a test run?" he finished with a sincere grin.

Sir Charles was stunned silent, but Rotor grinned, and shot up from his chair. "Of course! Are you ready for us to hook them up?"

Bunnie nodded. "Ready to try and walk on my own feet again? Help me out, sugar!"

Rotor started for the arm, lifting it off the table, and coming over to her with it. Bunnie leaned forward, pulling her damaged shoulder out of the little cover on the chair, and leaned closer to him as he knelt down at her side. Rotor lifted the arm into place, and Uncle Chuck handed him a few key tools. Bunnie waited, smiling down at the new limb absent-mindedly, and then raised her eyebrows when Rotor leaned back, and waved at it for her. "Try moving it. The systems should engage and activate once you start."

Grinning, the rabbit leaned back, and concentrated a bit. The hand twitched, and then the limb gave a soft whir before springing to life. It startled all three of them at first, but then Bunnie laughed, swinging it around lightly, and then admiring her new hand. "My stars… y'all, this beauty is perfect! It's not half as hard to lift as that last one."

Rotor winced a bit. "I'm afraid that's because it doesn't have as much armor on it…"

The woman smiled for him to relax. "Don't worry, sugar. I don't expect to be fightin' any time soon." She flexed the white hand, made a fist, and then patted her face and front gently. "Yeah, I can feel it, too. Solid, darlin', but too bad a hit, and it'll break like anythin' else."

Both men in the room nodded to her assessment. At this point, however, Rotor blushed a bit. "Ah… Bunnie, how do you want us to attach the legs?"

She blinked up at him. "…Why blushin', sugar?"

Rotor tried to relax with a smile. "Because of the link-ups, I need to… reach around a few places… that… might be bad…"

Bunnie's cheeks bristled with a very powerful blush of her own. "O-oh… ah…" She sank a bit. "I think y'all are the only ones who could do it right, ain'tcha?"

Rotor looked to Uncle Chuck. "Maybe Sally…?"

Sir Charles shrugged. "She'd be my bet, Rotor."

Bunnie exhaled firmly, sitting back up. "None of this nonsense, now, y'all. Just do what you need to do. You're both gentleman. I'd just appreciate it if you got it done as quick as you could."

Rotor nodded seriously. "Of course, Bunnie."

She smiled appreciatively, and lifted her arms up. They helped her out of the chair, and carefully lay her down on the work-table. There, she propped herself up on her elbows, and watched as Rotor moved the left leg into place, and then started to link into her hip. At one point, Rotor needed to reach to the inside of the hip, but gawked. Bunnie did blush, but was sympathetic to his situation. A gentle pout formed on her lips when he finally leaned his hand as far back on the thigh as he could, and reached the tool in from the distance, finishing the last link up. He almost seemed to yank himself away before he grinned up at her eyes. "Try moving this one."

Again, she had to concentrate the first time, but after the toes twitched, her leg jerked up at the slender, sleek knee, and then the leg moved quite naturally with soft clicks and muffled hissing from the hydraulics. "Perfect, sugar. Y'all did an amazin' job on these."

Both of them smiled at her, Uncle Chuck standing back at his point. Rotor waved to the remaining limb. "Ready for the last one?"

Bunnie nodded, relaxing her new leg down to the side, propping herself up a bit more, onto her palms. Rotor pushed the last leg into place, and linked it up, using the same, leaning technique to get at the most awkwardly placed one. Hopping back from the table, he waved to the limb. "Give it a whirl."

The cyborg giggled, and then focused. Again, the foot twitched, and then the leg rushed to her commands. Bunnie smiled brightly, flexing both legs back and forth, and then shoving off the table. She landed to a crouch, stood up, spun around, and waved her arms smoothly through the air.

Rotor was smiling fondly, Uncle Chuck relieved to see them functioning so well for her.

Bunnie laughed, hopping to a stand-still in front of them, her hands on her hips. "I can't thank y'all enough for this. It's just too good to be back on my own two feet, even if they are all new and shiny!" she finished with a playful wink.

Rotor laughed, and so did Sir Charles, but the roboticized hedgehog found himself wondering if Sally actually _had_ told the young rabbit woman about the price of the new limbs.

"Unless you gentleman need anything, I'd like to go talk to a friend of mine," Bunnie said vaguely, smiling still.

Rotor just waved out the door. "Go right ahead. Run laps if you like!"

The rabbit giggled, and then hopped over to him, hugging him tightly. Rotor blushed, but smiled, hugging her back. He was left silent and stunned when she kissed his cheek, and then hugged Sir Charles, kissing him on the cool metal forehead. With that, she was out of sight.

Uncle Chuck looked over at his coworker, and chuckled, starting to walk off before Rotor fainted back into a pile of hay.

(Sally's cottage…)

A holo-map of Robotropolis, generated by Nicole on the small wooden table in her cottage, had Sally's full attention until her door knocked lightly. The princess and rebel leader blinked with a start, and then hurried to the door, pulling it open. There she froze, seeing Bunnie standing in front of her… smiling. The squirrel was adorably stuck, a little smile trying to grow on her lips, but fear in her eyes.

Bunnie's smile softened, and she embraced her friend, her new arm clicking quietly. Sally gasped, and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Bunnie. For all of this horrible mess."

The cyborg woman just patted her friend's hair soothingly. "Calm down now, darlin'. I came to apologize for askin' ya to leave last night. That was awful cruel of me."

Sally shook her head. "No, no, Bunnie. You had every right. This is all my fault anyway, if you wanted to be alone…"

Bunnie's head was shaking softly as she tried to finish, so Sally quieted herself. Then the green-eyed young woman replied, "I just had to sort myself out before I faced anyone, Sally-girl. You know me real well, and it was mighty brave of you to come tell me all that. I'm glad ya did sooner rather than later, too. At least I'm prepared now."

"Oh Bunnie…"

The rabbit finally leaned away, smirking. "Now, don't go givin' me none of this 'oh Bunnie' nonsense. I'm darn lucky to have such amazin' friends who can give me new limbs when I've had most of 'em cut off by some mechanical nightmare. 'Sides… I kinda got used to not having my furry arm and legs. I'm okay, I promise."

Sally smiled warmly, patting her friend's cheek. "That's because you're the strongest woman I've ever met."

Bunnie winked. "Next to you, Sally-girl."

They both laughed, and hugged again.

(The dark city…)

The old, cold cackle filled the command center in the central fortress of Robotropolis. Snively dismally stared at the large green control-chair until it started to turn around, and promptly swallowed his dignity, snapping to attention before Robotnik's gaze fell on him. "Report, Snively."

"Recent rebel activities have depleted our swat-bot manufacturing capacity by 35, Dr. Robotnik. Judging by the rates of assault, it seems they have become more aggressive since the last Metal Sonic unit was destroyed."

Robotnik was smiling with dark relish still. "Of course they are. We hurt them, Snively. Now they're getting fierce. But things are falling into place quite nicely. Oh, very nicely, indeed." His finger strummed together, as they did quite frequently in recent weeks, and then he turned his chair back to the large collection of data-screens.

Considering they hadn't suffered such severe losses over a consistent period of time since the start of the resistance, Snively was incredulous at Robotnik's back. "May I ask… what is falling into place, sah?"

"I'm glad you asked, Snively." The chair spun back around, and the smaller man was quite startled by the sincere pleasure written on the mustached face. "You see, these recent changes in tactics have made me notice more and more. The hedgehog, a devious nuisance, is the answer to all the equations. Or rather… his speed. Yes, you see, now that I have had a chance to experiment with the Metal Sonic robots, I've been inspired. Doomsday is going to undergo some modifications soon…" he grinned at nothing. "But first!" he spun his chair back around, his expression turning serious. "We have another trap to lay for our dear Princess Acorn and her speedy, blue hero."

"Yes, sah…" Snively turned back to his console, still utterly lost regarding Robotnik's reasons for being so pleased.

"Oh, and Snively?" the mad scientist continued nonchalantly.

"Sah?"

"Activate protocol zero-zero-four."

The smaller man's brow creased, not recognizing the protocol, but inputted the commands for activation. What resulted made him fall on his rear and gasp. The entire complex shook violently… in fact, most of Robotropolis felt a sharp quake from far below.

On the view-screens inside the command-center, Snively was staring at video-feeds from recording spheres, showing a vast army of already-built swat-bots, complete with drilling machines, air-support, and more advanced weaponry.

Robotnik sneered. "See them, Snively?" The army started to move toward a solid wall of rock deep under the city.

"Y-yes, sah…"

"They're going to tunnel all the way to the Doomsday device, and continue construction. Unless the rebels want to fight through this fortress, or dig half a kilometer through solid granite, they won't even see it happening."

Snively's eyes grew wider.

Robotnik simply pushed another button, and his screens showed a new wire-frame model of a hedgehog-like shape. This one, however, was tall, lanky, with long limbs, and large structures coming off on narrow supports all over its frame. "Those rebels won't survive this one… no…"

(Meanwhile…)

Back at Knothole, Bunnie was helping Sally iron out some more mission plans, Tails looking on curiously, when a welcome and familiar rush of air reached their ears. Both women and the young boy looked up to see Sonic skid to a halt, and let Antoine down from the rushing streak of a journey. Antoine lovingly kissed the grass while Sonic stopped-short. He'd been out, zipping through Robotropolis, and hadn't seen Bunnie's new limbs yet.

The rabbit woman giggled, blushing gently at his obviously pleased, stunned stare, and then waved him down. "Now stop it, Sugar-hog. You're makin' me blush!"

He jerked, grinning, and then blurred over into a hug of the startled cyborg. Bunnie laughed it off, and hugged him in return.

"It's great to see ya on your feet, Bunnie," Sonic admitted, finally pulling back.

The rabbit winked one sparkling emerald eye. "Imagine how I feel?"

They both laughed, and Sally stepped up with a smile of her own. "How'd it go, Sonic?"

Antoine actually spoke next, kneeling on the ground. "Monsieur Soneek placed many of the charges around one of the factories. I was not seeing much of the point for the looking out with him zipping everywhere, but at least we are 'ome!"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Exactly. Sooner done, sooner home." To Sally's firm look, he sunk his head, but defended himself with, "I made sure it all went off as _planned_. I'm not a rookie, ya know, Sal?"

She smirked, laughing mildly. "I suppose so, Sonic. Good news on that front. Just a scouting mission to the Northwest of the city and you can rest for a couple of days… Well, not worry about _missions_ for a few days anyway. I don't think you ever rest."

Sonic grinned. "So where am I headed?"

She pulled a map off the table, and started to speak to him about what they needed. Meanwhile, Antoine came up to Bunnie, smiling gently. "Mademoiselle Bunnie, it is most relieving to be seeing you up and about, as they are saying! I can not put words to my feelings!"

Bunnie grinned, Tails trotting over to get a hug and ruffle of his fur from Sonic. "Thank you kindly, Antoine. I actually kinda like these new ones. Slimmer for my figure," she finished with a wink and a playfully alluring pose, one hand up, fluffing her ears, the other on her outer hip.

Antoine actually blushed a bit, and giggled nervously. "Oh-ho-ho! So I see, Mademoiselle!"

She was a bit surprised (and privately quite pleased) that he was actually struck by the silly gesture, and smiled more kindly at him. "Thanks again, Antoine."

He just shook his head, smiling, and trotted over to the other three, only to hold his jacket and hair as Sonic shot off with a fresh laugh. Bunnie walked up as Sally tried to clean her hair up, the squirrel half-smiling despite her irritation.

"Why Sally-girl, you look mighty happy all of a shot. Been missin' a certain Sugar-hog the last few days?"

The princess jerked, blushing a bit. "B-Bunnie, don't be silly. It's… just a beautiful day."

Tails laughed. "You're blushing, Aunt Sally."

The resistance leader sputtered a bit, and started to shoo the boy off, mumbling something about a good lunch and him not eating enough at breakfast. Bunnie stood back with Antoine, smirking in a knowing, happy manner.

(Later…)

Skidding to a halt on ashen-gray rocks, Sonic peeked over a large boulder, and focused on an isolated landing in a small mountain less than half-a-kilometer away. It was about half-way up the mountain-side, with three sides of near vertical rock cutting it off from easy access other than the front. At the back, nestled into the crags, was a small security station, with swat-bots patrolling around it.

He was about to return to Knothole to report the location of the minor outpost, when he stopped, and watched as four swat-bots abruptly turned and opened fire at something. He blinked, and realized they had just obliterated a small rodent that had happened to scamper within a certain radius of the little tower.

"Whoa! Talk about tight security… Something must be up…" Intrigued, the blue hedgehog revved his legs, and shot off. The streak of his path rushed down to the foot of the mountain, up the face, and right through the patrol on the landing. All of the swat-bots went into a frenzy, firing and charging him.

Ripping into a buzz-saw near the outpost itself, Sonic found it surprisingly resistant to his attack, and bounced off, speeding away. His brow creased with further concern when he looked back, only to see the swat-bots returning to their patrols rather than chasing him off. "Shoot, it must be important for all this weirdness… Time to tell Sal." And he blazed for the horizon.

(Back again…)

As he only did when he had passengers of his own, Sonic eased down on his speed long before stopping. Going from high speed to dead-stop in a few feet didn't do well for people clinging to him. His report had been fast and to the point, like everything he did, and not much convincing was required to get Sally behind a demolition mission. It had been tough leaving Bunnie behind on the first major mission after she got her limbs back, but she'd smiled and wished them well.

So Sonic finally stopped near the same outcropping of rocks from which he had first spied the new base, and Sally and Antoine could finally let go. The fox was strangely stoic this time, though a cold sweat was visible on his brow. Sally and he had backpacks full of Rotor-made bombs ready to set and ignite by controller.

Having already explained the odd behavior of the defending swat-bots, Sonic looked back to Sally calmly. "I'm sticking with you guys and playing defense this time around. This place is too weird anyway."

For once, Sally didn't push him on a suggestion. She nodded. "I agree. Lead the way?"

He winked at her, and the princess couldn't resist a subtle smile before he shot off with a boom and rush. Sally nodded to Antoine, and they clambered over the rock, controlling their slides down the hill-side, and then ran for the mountain themselves. Sonic was already buzz-sawing through swat-bots up near the base as they reached the middle of the small mountain, but that didn't bother either of them.

Helping Antoine up onto the landing with the outpost tower, Sally paused for a moment to watch Sonic work. She was rarely up-close when he battled swat-bots, and it was an impressive sight. He just took them apart. Even the reinforcements rushing out of the outpost were being mowed down by a blue rush arcing and coiling around the landing like a crazed yo-yo.

Sally nudged Antoine's side to make sure she had his attention, and then nodded up to the tower itself. "Let's wait for another opening, and get inside, Antoine."

"I am with you, ma prinzess."

She offered the unusually serious fox a kind smile, nodded, and led him along the right-hand wall of the landing as Sonic ripped another squadron of hover-heads apart.

Unbeknownst to the three freedom fighters, Robotnik was watching all three of them on his security orbs around the mountain. The rotund tyrant smiled darkly. "Excellent, the princess herself. Snively, you may activate the weapon at any time…" He sounded genuinely casual, giving a blithe toss of his non-mechanical hand.

At the large console, as always, Snively cringed and pressed the waiting command key. A screen on his interface activated, and showed a wire-frame of the lanky, boxy Metal Sonic design previously on Robotnik's main screens. It flashed, and a bar appeared on the screen saying 'Activated'.

Back on the mountain, Sally and Antoine were just reaching the tower when both they and Sonic realized something was wrong… again. Sonic had just torn the last swat-bot apart, landing near the middle of the flat expanse around the tower, and the entire place had gone strangely quiet. The tower itself seemed dead.

Sally pressed a hand back into Antoine's front, and then briskly turned, hurrying toward Sonic. Antoine followed without hesitation, and Sonic agreed, rushing up to them.

"Wait or go, Sal?" Sonic checked quietly, feeling the need to whisper for some reason. He just felt like they were being listened to.

Sally eyed the crags around the tower warily. "I'm not sure. Maybe we should just retreat…"

Antoine remained quiet, but his face was firm, tightened.

And then the tower gate started to open again. As it started to creep up to the top, their eyes locked on the two metal feet it first revealed.

"Not again… not already…" Sally breathed, she and Antoine both stepping behind Sonic, the hero of the resistance spreading his feet forward and back, ready to shoot off instantly.

This one was surprisingly… tall. It was easily three times Sonic's height as the door finally pulled over its head. The optics flashed, and vents gushed mist from the narrow flanks. The robot stood erect, with long, thin, but subtly armored black and silver legs. The torso was wide and thin, with armored shoulders. The head was simply sleeker than the previous model, more proportioned. It was the arms that were the most intimidating. While spindly in their own mass, like the legs, they featured gauntlets of thicker black armor, long, clawed hands, and large, hydraulic frames held huge, blocky chunks of silver and black metal out and off from the robot's main body. It was a war machine more than a speed demon.

"Priority 1, resistance fighters. Target present. Prioritizing group. Sally Acorn."

Sonic bared his teeth.

Sally's face changed this time. Remembering what had happened to her dear friend, her own cowardice, a cold anger flared in her chest. "Sonic, go!"

The blue wonder flickered, the air exploding around Sally and Antoine, but neither reacted. Antoine had a similar cold anger in his eyes to the princess.

Metal Sonic snapped his arms up, the large blocks suddenly snapping forward, revealing missiles, building energy in cannon-barrels, and even blade launchers.

But before even Sonic could reach the machine, something just _happened_. There was a subtle rush, a flash of white light raining down from high above, and then the tower and a good chunk of the landing erupted in a geyser of force , rock, and dust. Sonic was halted instantly, and sent flying back under a wave of rubble. Sally and Antoine cried out in shock, Sonic slamming onto his back near their feet.

Robotnik lost his video feed in the same blink. "WHAT? Snively!"

On the mountain, Sally and Antoine helped Sonic back onto his feet, all three of them staring at the huge crater that had formed out of nowhere. And then they heard it. The Metal Sonic that had just appeared to them had never moved his razor-fin, it hadn't been flexible, but they heard that horrible, ripping, rushing roar. And this time it was a chorus.

With the dust still settling, they heard something moving up crater from the inside, toward them. Sonic braced again, but needed a target first. What he got was a shock.

Metal Sonic appeared on the crest of the crater, but it was not the weapon-crazed war-machine they had just faced. It was the monstrosity from the canyon cave, which the three resistance fighters could not recognize yet. Three razor-fins on the black and silver head, diamond-glass tubes and plating glowing with white light, red optics glimmering ominously. The unusually detailed arms and legs were limp as it stood, the hands just hanging.

And then the three fins, the largest in the center, small ones behind where ears would have rested, ripped again, filling the air with that horrible, mouthless roar. The optics flashed. Metal Sonic focused on the three, his purpose for coming standing just behind Sonic, to his left. Sally was staring in controlled shock, not sure what to make of this new robot, or why it had so violently and suddenly appeared. Then Metal spoke, the vented face-plate gushing mist just before his low, smooth voice filtered out. "I'm here, Sal."

She actually twitched. "W-what did it just…?"

Sonic glowered. "Alright, chrome-dome, using' my nick-name for Sally is way past the line!" He revved, and burst to ram the black, silver, and white-glowing machine.

The robot focused on Sonic calmly as he sped up to him. The warped programming in the machine's mind flickered through images of Sally smiling at Sonic, and then overlapping its own data with the blue hedgehog. Seeing the hedgehog actually approaching only triggered the defense systems. These were bypassed as the machine looked back up at Sally. All of this occurred in a split-second.

Sonic skidded to a halt, his eyes flaring. A flash of light had startled him, and then it streaked down the crater-edge, across the landing, and ended at Sally. Metal Sonic appeared there, the light fading into his diamond-glass details. Antoine snarled, actually leaping _onto_ the robot as Sally stumbled back from fright. "Sonic!" she cried out.

Metal ignored Antoine as the fox clung to his right arm, bit, and scratched it, and stepped closer to Sally, his left hand reaching toward her face. Sonic was just twisting around on the crater-edge, about to zip back, when the machine spoke. "I'm here, Sal."

Sally hesitated, her eyes tightening at the robot's optics. "…Sonic?" she repeated her friend's name strangely this time, as if testing it for the robot.

"Yes," the machine answered, easing closer, the metal fingers just reaching to her furry cheek.

Of course the princess recoiled, her mouth shivering open as she jerked away from the thing's touch. "You're not Sonic! You're…" her eyes hollowed, "the one from the canyon…"

Sonic's eyes flared, Antoine falling off the thing's arm as he realized she was right.

Memory files clicked into place, and tried to relate to Sally's presence. He saw the battle in the canyon-cave, her rising up and shouting at his view-point. "From the canyon, yes."

"You shoulda stayed there!"

Metal pitched violently down to Sally's right, crashing away from her as Sonic rammed into the robot's side in full buzz-saw fury. Most disturbingly, Sonic just _bounced_ off with a sharp ping, and the robot planted one foot further away to prevent from losing balance. Sonic landed, grabbed Sally and Antoine by their arms, and zipped back, just getting them away from the machine to give time to think up a plan. He stopped near the far side of the landing, near the edge, on the mountainside, keeping Sally and Antoine behind him.

"It eez the monstroceety that harmed mademoiselle Bunnie! But how?"

Metal picked himself up to full standing position, and locked his optics sidelong on Sally again, the three fins ripping. It suddenly rushed toward them, Sonic blitzing to meet it. Sally and Antoine watched as the two blazed for a collision, but just before it could happen, Metal was suddenly engulfed in a sphere of white energy, and blasted forward and _all the way_ around Sonic, reappearing on the hedgehog's right, back-handing him violently.

Sonic grunted, and flew into the air, flipping around like a rag-doll, and slamming into the side of the crater.

"Sonic?" Sally cried out, her hands snapping to her mouth.

Metal looked up at her, reacting to the dismay in her voice, and flashed with power again. He was suddenly _there_, in front of her, the light fading. Antoine fell back from the wind-blast, and Sally would have if not caught around the waist by the machine's right arm. It was trying to embrace her in some way. Sally's heart and stomach lurched unpleasantly at the combination of proximity, memory, and identity of the thing trying to hold onto her, and she rammed her palms into its chest, starting to struggle violently out of the arm.

Seeming to ignore her struggling, Metal's left hand reached up again. Sally assumed it was just taking a malicious pleasure in starting to strangle her again, so she tried more frantically to get free, Antoine just rising up, kicking at the robot's legs and side, but to no avail. What actually happened made Sally almost wish the thing had wanted to strangle her.

It caressed her. The cold, sharp metal of his thumb just ran down her cheek, the fingers running back along her jaw-line. It was holding her close, the cold of his stomach against her own, and was trying to caress her face.

Sally's eyes flared over his touch, her body shivering from an unexpected rage and overwhelming sense of violation. "Get _away from me_!"

The optics tightened, confused. "…Not smiling…"

She was so disturbed at this point that Sally actually had tears in her eyes, just from the sheer confusion of emotions in her system. "Of _course_ I'm not smiling! Get OFF ME!" It was nonsensical, but the words just rushed out of her mouth. She started to wrench her head away from his hand, squirming violently in his arm, kicking and scratching him. "No! No! Let go! You hurt Bunnie! You tore HER APART! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Her rage, screaming, and obvious hatred were shaking his confused programming to their warped foundations. Metal's eyes tightened, his frame twitching faintly. Trying to adapt, his interface systems started to accept her unexpected reaction as new data for comparison. Trying to analyze and solve an algorithm that it didn't realize was too complex for any mind to solve.

"Comin' Sal!"

This time it was real.

Metal's head twisted, Sonic arcing through the air as a buzz-saw, coming down on him again. This time it triggered something. The impact of the power-ring, Sonic's dark satisfaction at finally nailing the robot, it all played through Metal's memories and programming. Metal released Sally that instant, the woman gasping and scrambling backward, shivering and moaning from deep disgust, as if she'd been dumped in a pit full of crawling insects. Antoine fell back with her, not even looking as the robot responded to Sonic instantly.

Sonic came down, only to get knocked clean out of his spin by a snapping ram of Metal's right hand… clamping around Sonic's jaw. The hedgehog groaned in very serious pain, his neck almost breaking as his body lashed out of the spin. Sally yelped, but Antoine fell down at her side as she sagged with a minute bit of relief. Sonic was alive.

Metal, however, looked as ominously vicious as when he'd first appeared in the canyon cave at last. Holding Sonic up in the air as he was, his voice uttered one phrase. "…Full stop." The optics flickered, and the three fins roared.

Sonic grimaced, and his legs burst with speed, ramming into Metal's elbow with super-sonic ferocity. Beyond causing the entire arm to vibrate, however, it did little to affect the robot. Metal pulled Sonic down into his face, not actually remembering that it was exactly what he'd done to Sally before, when strangling her with the other arm. "You took Sal."

This time Sonic stared at the machine in similarly disgusted confusion as the princess herself had when being embraced and caressed by the dark metal construct. He would have responded sharply if his mouth hadn't been held shut. Metal, however, just flung the hedgehog away, and turned back to the princess.

Not even looking, Sonic put his feet below his body, revved to full speed, and landed blazing. Sally cowered back from Metal, not just from fear, but real disgust, not even wanting to think about what it wanted to _do_ with her if it got a hold of her, and then saw the machine burst in white light again. Sonic appeared, because he was skidding to a halt, shock flashing across his face. He'd tried to ram Metal off the edge of the landing, but the robot had dodged somehow, and now the hedgehog was skidding right to the edge himself.

"No! Sonic!" Sally dove to help him, Antoine falling right after her.

Metal appeared behind Sonic, and simply palmed him in the back. Sonic dove off the edge, but Sally got a hold of his ankle. It yanked her over the edge, Antoine stumbling onto her legs, sliding off with her in a rush. Sonic got twisted into the mountainside, slowing his tumble, and Sally flew off, actually in the open air, and falling toward a very dangerous landing on jagged rocks near the foot of the mountain. Sonic snapped up, blazing through the shale on the side of the short mountain. "Sal!"

A white flash beat him to her. Sally grunted, slowed from her fall, and looked down with widened eyes to see Metal Sonic holding her in his arms, slowing to a stop on the mountainside after catching her. She was too stunned to resist as he kept her in his arms, looking at her with… softness? In his optics. "I'm here, Sal."

His arms were so cold, digging into her back and legs. "Let go of me," she breathed tightly, tears in her eyes. "Please let go of me!" she suddenly cried out.

The new data was starting to be incorporated now. He twitched. "Want. Sally. Release… Command. Not smiling. Priority. Want. Release."

In a jerking, stuttering manner, the robot let her drop. Sally hit the ground crouching, Sonic skidding to a stop in shock at seeing the robot _save_ her. Antoine watched from higher up on the mountainside, all of them staring at the robot as he continued to twitch and flicker, even his blade-fins shifting up and down rapidly.

He started to stumble back from her, up the mountain side, looking at his hands as he continued to jerk and twitch. "Not… smiling. Can not process. System conflict. Override. Repair. Unable." Finally he grabbed his head, and his blades started to rev violently, almost like a scream of frustration. "Not smiling. NOT SMILING!" emotion suddenly burst into his voice. "Data invalid. Want. Smile. Not smiling. _I want smile_," he suddenly shifted again, breathing the last phrase out weakly, his face-plate venting a soft rush of mist. All the new images, her anger and disgust, her blending into the smiles with Sonic, the overlap of his data.

And then…

"Bunnie," he voiced in the monotone analysis manner, going very still. "Hurt. Bunnie. Not smiling."

His optics slowly focused on Sally again, the woman's disgust tempered by a morbid fascination, along with Sonic and Antoine, as they all watched the machine war with itself.

When it looked at her again, though, Sally's anger surged back to life. "That's right! You tore her apart! You tried to kill me!" His optics twitched at this. "You fought Sonic, you fought Antoine. You were going to kill all of my friends, you wretched machine! Now Bunnie will never get her arm and legs back! NO I'M NOT SMILING!"

Sonic's eyes locked on Sally this time, concern washing across his otherwise angry features. She was just _raging _at the machine, it wasn't like her at all.

Memories clicked as she screamed at him, though. Metal suddenly went still. "Priority 1, resistance fighters…"

Sally froze, fearing she had woken up the assassin's programming rather than turned his disturbing new behavior against him. She'd just snapped, too disgusted not to scream, too sad for Bunnie not to lash out.

But Metal Sonic was just remembering it. His old programming. Then the old programming registered the memories, of Sally smiling at…

He rounded on Sonic, his entire body bracing with animalistic fury all of a sudden. Sonic braced as well, the two disturbingly alike, but Metal slowly narrowed his optics, and then looked back at Sally, his optics widening with… confusion?

Suddenly he stumbled again, holding a hand to his metal face. "S-Sonic… I am… Sonic… Not… Sonic. Not smiling. Not Sonic. Resistance fighters. Tore apart…" the images of Bunnie, remembering the sound of her scream.

Metal's back arched, his body flaring with power through all the diamond-glass and trace-lines, his optics blazing, his blade-fins roaring violently. He screamed, the voice distorting into a horrible, electronic screech. He writhed and contorted, then became engulfed in the white sphere of energy again… and it ripped off into the air, arcing high and away from the three resistance fighters, all but gone in an instant.

Sonic blurred up to Sally, the woman shaking from her raging emotions. He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey… Sal? Talk to me…"

She looked in his eyes, her own tearing up. "H-he… touched me… He…"

Sonic winced in deep sympathy and guilt. "I… I'm sorry, Sal. I wasn't…"

The princess suddenly contorted, snapping her arms around herself, shaking. "I can't get that feeling out of my head! Ugh…" she seriously moaned in disgust, and she was looking deathly pale. Abruptly she lurched, and Sonic helped her stay upright as she vomited on the rocks.

Antoine had been stumbling down toward them, but stopped when he realized how seriously upset she was.

Sonic was totally lost at this point, mildly horrified at Sally's state, and having no idea how to help her. "S-Sal… calm down. It was just metal, Sal. He didn't do anything… Luckily…"

"He _touched me_!" Sally suddenly rasped back at Sonic, tears in her eyes. "He was all over me! The thing that hurt Bunnie, was holding me in his arms, caressing my _face_!"

Sonic suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Hey! It's just a robot, alright? Metal and gears! Calm down, Sal! You need to calm down…"

She did, slowly… but then her face tightened as tears welled up more powerfully in her eyes. Finally, she burst into sobs. Sonic was near tears himself, from sheer confusion, seeing Sally so hurt, being unable to help her, being too slow for that horrible robot, and being just completely _lost_ as to how to help her. He just reached around her, and she sobbed into his shoulder, her trembling hands clenching into the fur on his front.

"Forgive moi," Antoine hesitantly said, "but we must be going, Monsieur Soneek. Robotneek's forces must be coming to investeegate the strange happenings…"

Sonic nodded, and simply picked Sally up in his arms. That she just curled up, still crying, worried the two men more than anything else. "…Grab hold, Ant."

The fox did so, and Sonic took off. Indeed, they were under the ever-watchful eyes of fresh security orbs.

Robotnik glowered in his throne, but his eyes glimmered with thought. Snively had fled from the room already. The tyrant, however, sat back in his throne, and laced his fingers together. "…Unexpected… but useful." He hit a few keys on his armrest, and it brought up the schematics for the second Metal Sonic. "I always give myself a back-door…"

(Author's Note)

Again, thank you all for the positive reviews. I'm glad the story is enjoyable. Hopefully, with this chapter, the title of this fan-fic is starting to make more sense. Don't worry, you haven't seen the last of the resurrected robot. I want his progression, to whatever end, to be believable, so it will take a while longer.

Reviews/critique always welcome.


	6. Discovering the Truth

Chapter 6: "Discovering the Truth"

When they heard the familiar booming rush of Sonic's return, Bunnie, Tails, and Dulcy were already waiting for him near Knothole's central field. When they saw him skid to a stop with Sally curled up in his arms, upset himself, with Antoine even more disconcertingly grave than before, they all rushed up to the blue hero, Dulcy rumbling the ground a bit with her size.

Bunnie was straight to business. "Is she hurt?"

Sonic shook his head. "No… n-not physically, anyway."

Sally shifted, and Sonic let her down. Everyone, even Tails, stood back a bit as she stood alone, her head bowed, her hair hiding her eyes. "I just… need to calm down, I'm sorry to worry you." Her voice was too soft for them not to. Then she moved for her cottage.

Bunnie immediately turned to Sonic, and quite firmly jerked her head for him to follow. She blinked, relaxing into confusion when he just looked down and aside. Then she heard Sally's door shut, and finally set her hands on her hips. "Well what the blazin' shades a-Mobius happened out there?"

Antoine managed, "Eet was another robotic Soneek."

Bunnie turned grim, Tails and Dulcy sharing a worried glance. The cyborg continued, "Well y'all obviously got away, so what's causin' those long faces? What put Sally in such a state?"

Sonic found his voice again. Maybe it just had to catch up. "There were two, Bunnie. The first one appeared, I got ready to mow 'im down… then it all exploded in front of us. Before we could evac, another one came creeping out of the rubble… He was faster than me…"

His friends stared in alarm.

"F-faster 'an y…." Bunnie shut her voice off before Sonic made his own hands bleed with the force of his trembling fists.

Antoine added, "Eet was obsessed with Prinzess Sally. When eet got 'old of 'er, eet… ma Prinzess was not wishing to be touched by such a cold monstroceety."

Bunnie felt ill. "It got a-hold of her? But then…"

Sonic started to march away. "Obsessed, but not with killing her… He thought he was me. Something was wrong with his programming. It…"

Antoine looked seriously to Bunnie when Sonic's voice cut out. "Eet does not look the same at all, mademoiselle Bunnie, but the machine was the one from the canyon…"

It took a moment for the cyborg to put what he'd said together, still confused. "Wait… what?"

Dulcy's mouth was agape. "You mean that horrible thing that hurt Bunnie before?"

Antoine nodded. "And eet is more powerful than before… much more…"

Bunnie's rage boiled over. "And it wanted to touch Sally-girl? Ugh! That sick, rust-for-brained… ugh! That explains it then. Sally figured it was the canyon robot?"

Both men nodded, though Sonic had his back to most of them, off on the side.

The cyborg, now calm again, nodded firmly to herself, looking off with her hands on her hips. "She felt so bad about all that… Ta have the blasted thing try and _make out_ with 'er would get to poor Sally-girl alright."

Sonic twitched at Bunnie's choice of words.

"Sonic."

She rarely used his name, so he turned to look over his shoulder.

Bunnie was looking at him. "Sally-girl needs ya, Sugar-hog. Go talk to her."

He looked away again. "I couldn't help her, Bunnie… What's worse…" his fists shivered again, his eyes staring violently down into nothing, "he saved her… She was falling and he caught her first…"

"And you woulda caught her just fine yourself, Sugar-hog, so no more of this business when she needs you!"

"She doesn't need me!" Sonic snapped abruptly, everyone blinking at him. "And until I break that thing, I'm not much good to the resistance either!" And he blasted off before anyone could say anything else.

Bunnie's face turned flat. "Dulcy, darlin'?"

"Yeah, Bunnie?"

"Follow 'im would ya? If he wants trouble, come back and tell us."

"You got it!"

As the dragon took off, Bunnie comforted Tails enough to get him to go back to his own cottage, and gave Antoine a soft hug that startled him before he returned it.

"Take it easy, Antoine. Do me a favor, though?"

"Anything, mademoiselle…"

"Go update Rotor and the others about this new robot for me? I want to go check on Sally-girl before she does something stupid."

Antoine nodded rapidly as they pulled apart, and hurried for the workshop. Bunnie trotted over to Sally's cottage, and knocked on the door.

"…Sonic?"

Bunnie frowned sadly as she heard her friend's weakly hopeful voice. "…No, Sally-girl… just Bunnie."

"O-oh… C-come in…"

She pushed through, seeing Sally awkwardly picking herself up from being curled up on her side on the bed, wiping some quiet tears from her eyes and forcing a smile. "You must think I'm pretty silly after all this…"

But Bunnie just came over, sat with her friend, and hugged her. She felt Sally shake again, the woman resisting fresh sobs. And she had a pretty good idea why. "…Sally-girl, they told me the gist of what happened. You better not be blamin' yourself for some whacky robot liking you after hurtin' me."

Sally sobbed in confirmation. "I-I'm so sorry, Bunnie! It was…" she moaned sickly, curling up a bit in Bunnie's arms. "I can still feel that metal on my fur! It was disgusting!"

Bunnie patted her back, and stroked the woman's hair soothingly. "Ease down, sugar. You're worked up somethin' fierce. At least it wasn't trying to kill you, alright? Better disturbing than lethal, any day."

The princess tried to calm. "I… I guess you're right, yeah… I'm just so glad Sonic was there. That thing thought it was him!" She started to speak more rapidly, but low and quiet. "Sonic held me so gently on the way back… I know he must be worried… And he'll feel horrible because of how fast that thing was, don't let him jet off to find it, please?"

Bunnie winced. "We're workin' on it, sugar…"

Sally just nodded.

Abruptly, startling Bunnie, Sally leaned back from their embrace, and held her friend's cheeks with her hands, looking into her eyes. "I haven't forgotten!"

Bunnie blinked. "…Forgotten what, Sally-girl?"

"That it hurt you!"

The cyborg looked at her seriously. "I know you haven't, darlin'… so what's _really_ hurtin' you? Your hearts breakin' in front of me…"

Sally curled her knees up to her chin, pulling a bit away from Bunnie. She seemed ashamed.

Bunnie rested her soft hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come on, you can tell ole Bunnie."

Sally exhaled heavily, ducking her head down. "I-it… it… felt like… Sonic…"

Her cyborg friend finally tilted her head, gravely disturbed by the idea. "What do you mean?"

"It was horribly cold, and the metal was painful, but…" Sally shivered, but a blush was on her cheeks. "For a split-second I…" She planted her face in her hands and sobbed again.

Bunnie embraced her from the side. "For a split-second it felt nice…?"

Sally jerked more tightly over herself. "…yes…"

"Sally-girl, it's okay…"

Sally violently shook her head.

"But it is. He wasn't hurtin' you, apparently he was tryin' to be… affectionate in some weird way. That'll cause certain reactions, even when it's not supposed to happen in the first place. That's why people aren't supposed to push it on each other, it's supposed to be invited." Bunnie smiled warmly when Sally looked up at her meekly. "He still attacked you, darlin', don't feel bad for havin' a natural response to bein' touched. You're pretty upset anyway, I wouldn't worry about fallin' for the hunk of junk any time soon," Bunnie finished with dry humor in her voice.

It let Sally laugh, the idea totally absurd even to her. It had only really affected her because… Calming she looked Bunnie in the eyes. "He moved like Sonic… It…"

"Made you think of being in the Sugar-hog's arms instead?"

Sally blushed quite seriously, looking down… but nodded gently.

Bunnie patted her friend's hair, but then a knock came to the door. The cyborg left her friend on the bed, and hurried to the door, checking around the edge. It was Dulcy. Bunnie winked back at her friend, and then stepped outside.

"Where'd he head off to, Dulcy?"

The dragon smiled, and nodded behind her. Bunnie blinked, and looked around, only to spot Sonic sitting on a tree-root across the clearing from Sally's house.

"He just did a lap around Knothole, and then planted himself right there," Dulcy explained.

Bunnie smiled, nodded her thanks to the dragon, and trotted over to the hedgehog. "Thanks for not chargin' off after that thing, Sugar-hog."

He just shook his head, still looking down.

"…Sally wants to see ya."

"She asked for me?" he replied, confused, looking up at last.

Bunnie smirked. "You might say that. Just get over there, Sonic. I promise that my new legs still pack quite a punch when I get enough of a kick going at a certain hero's behind when he doesn't wanna do what I tell 'im."

Sonic gulped, nodded, and zipped across the clearing. Bunnie giggled, and made her way to speak with Rotor. They needed to develop some anti-robot weapons.

(Later…)

When the door knocked at her cottage again, Sally assumed it was Bunnie coming back. "You don't have to knock…"

Sonic peeked through the doorway. "I don't?" He blinked.

Sally blushed, startled, but was starting to smile a bit. "S-sorry, Sonic… I thought… Bunnie was coming back."

He nodded out. "Want me to go get her. Be back in a flash?"

Sally shook her head. "No, no… please…" She found herself unsure what to say, but wanting to speak about so much.

A bit worried for her, Sonic stepped through, gently pushing the door shut, and stepped up beside her bed. "…I'm sorry, Sal. I really let you down this time…" He looked down, disturbingly serious for his usual nature.

The squirrel woman almost laughed, shaking her head. "No, you didn't, Sonic. I'm sorry I scared you. I was just… sensitive."

He tried to smirk. "Hey, at least I got to carry the prettiest girl in Knothole in my arms, right?"

She laughed happily, and it relieved him enough to laugh more himself. They relaxed in a moment, and Sonic found himself anxiously curious. "Sal…"

The princess focused on him instantly, seeing the worry in his eyes. "…What is it?"

"D-did he… do something I missed? You were… really upset, and I didn't see him… do anything serious…"

Sally turned uncomfortable, looking down, but shook her head. "No… you didn't miss anything."

"But I… don't get it…"

The young woman winced painfully. "Sonic… Please don't take this the wrong way when I tell you."

He stood calmly. "Alright."

"I was so disturbed because… even though he was made of metal… He… It reminded me of you."

Sonic eased back a step, and she jerked up, reaching out. "W-wait! I didn't… It's not… I like it when you hold me, Sonic."

He blinked, and she realized what she'd said. The poor woman blushed violently, and ducked her head down, looking away again.

Trying to recover himself, Sonic just blinked, ignoring the soft blush on his own cheeks. "So why did it make you freak out?"

"Because it wasn't you, but felt like you. It was just… so disturbing…"

Sonic sat down at her side, and then embraced her. He didn't expect her response, which was to just coil her arms around him and squeeze tightly.

"…You're so warm…"

His blush returned with a vengeance. "S-Sal…"

Tears were in her eyes as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Please just stay a while…"

Sonic swallowed softly. "Sure… Here, why don't you… lie down. Relax?"

She pulled him with her, just holding onto him as he helped her lie back onto her pillow. He could tell that because of the shame, fear, and sorrow she'd flown through since the mission, she was just worn out. When they were lying down, she kept her arms around him, and he kept his around her. She softly tilted her nose into his front, and started to breathe smoothly.

Quite embarrassed, Sonic realized how warm she was, and how strange it was to be both exhilarated and totally relaxed by having her so close. Her fur was so lovely and soft, and her voice, just hinted by her breathing, was one of the most wonderful sounds on Mobius. It had never felt so good to be so still.

Sally's arms started to relax, sink gently around him, and he glanced down at her angelic face, relaxing into sleep. Before she totally drifted into the land of dreams, however, her hand sank softly onto his front from his shoulder, the fingers gently shifting through his fur. "…Stay…" she whispered… and fell completely unconscious.

Sonic let his eyes relax closed, and just rested his cheek on her hair. "Not goin' anywhere…"

(Later…)

Rotor and Bunnie were a bit frantic as they scurried after Uncle Chuck, who was walking through the workshop, picking up some supplies in a small bag. Rotor exclaimed, "You can't leave now, Uncle Chuck! We can't start on the de-roboticizer without you."

"Not to mention that you're one of the best tinkerers on Mobius!" Bunnie added emphatically. "We need your hands more than your eyes."

But the roboticized hedgehog shook his head. "This new robot and Robotnik's odd behavior demand a reliable source of information from the city. I need to get back out there before something worse happens. We can't build a de-roboticizer without key components either, and those could only be found or built properly in the city anyway." He turned to them at the door. "I'm sorry, I understand your frustration, but the situation is too perilous, and I only returned to Knothole to help you get back on your feet, Bunnie. I'll continue to work on my modifications to the de-roboticizer between observations. I promise you both, we'll build one, and I'll do everything in my power to get you your original limbs back, but until then, Robotnik is a much more immediate danger."

The two younger rebels finally slumped with defeat, quite following his point. The hedgehog offered a kind smile, nodded to them, and then hurried off. Finally, Bunnie sighed, and patted Rotor's shoulder with her metal and plastic hand. "I'm gonna go check on Sally-girl, make sure she gets some breakfast."

The walrus just nodded, and quietly returned to modifying some new explosives. Bunnie left the workshop, returned to the main Knothole compound, and came up to Sally's door. It was still early in the morning, just late enough for the sun to glow across the forest in full glory. Her hand reached up to knock, when Bunnie hesitated. She didn't want to wake the poor girl up with a pounding. Instead, she gently twisted the handle, and eased her head through. She blinked at the sight waiting for her, and then smiled fondly. _Well it's about tootin' time. I told ya she was looking for ya, Sugar-hog._

Fast asleep in each other's arms, the rebel leader and the resistance hero were almost like newborns in a crib. Bunnie eased through the cottage, shutting the door gently behind her, and came up to the foot of the bed. "Rise and shine, sleepy-heads. It's too gorgeous a day to be sleepin' too late. I don't care how comfortable y'all are."

Sally started to shift, murmuring, but Sonic seemed dead-to-the-world with the princess nestled in his arms. The squirrel woman finally blinked her eyes open, totally calm and relaxed at first… then she focused on Sonic's chest right in front of her, and down to the side, where Bunnie was standing with a huge grin of mirth.

Blushing violently, Sally yelped, and jerked upright, her cheeks bristling. "It's not what it looks like!"

Sonic snapped awake from the sharp release of his arms and Sally's panicked, indeed down-right squeaky voice. "Whoa, what?" The poor hedgehog almost fell out of the bed as Bunnie folded over with laughter.

"We just fell asleep! What time is it? Oh, no, no!" Sally hid her head in her arms, completely mortified.

Sonic sat up, a bit embarrassed himself, but not really sure why Sally was so obviously horrified that they'd been woken up together. "Sal, relax… We just took a snooze…"

Bunnie was trying to stop laughing, but in vain. "It's… the next mornin'… Sugar-hog…"

Sonic blinked, startled, but laughed lightly. "No kiddin'? Dang, I haven't slept that good in… well, ever."

Sally shook her head rapidly. "We didn't do anything!"

The hedgehog blinked at her again. "Yeah, Sal… nobody thinks we did…"

Bunnie finally managed to breathe, her hands on the foot of the bed. "Whew… aw, darlin'. You are the cutest thing when you're blushin'!"

Sally squeaked at her in protest.

"Oh come on. It's not like I think y'all were kissin' all night long."

Sonic fell out of the bed, red-faced, with a yelp of fright. It took his thump on the floor to shock Sally enough to look over the side of the bed. "Sonic, are you alright?"

He was coughing and sputtering, and Bunnie went from sympathetic surprise at his fall, to bursting out laughing and actually rolling on the floor herself. "B-wha, who--! _Kissing?_ Where did all that come from?"

Sally had finally woken up enough to put her friend's laughing and Sonic's sincere embarrassment together and relax her own mortification. "Oh nowhere," she said with a dry glare at her hysterical friend. "Bunnie just wanted to poke some fun. Isn't that right?"

Bunnie sat up, panting and fanning her face with her mechanical hand, which blurred with speed at doing so. "Oh… yeah… I'm sorry, y'all. But you shoulda seen your faces!" She grinned. "And you two were as adorable as little cubs in a cave asleep like that!"

Sally blushed again, but was giggling at this point. Sonic dusted himself off as he stood up, glowering at Bunnie for a moment, who started to snicker again, and then smiled for Sally. "Good to see you smiling, Sal."

The squirrel softened the expression appreciatively as she looked at him. "…Thanks for… staying."

He chuckled. "Any time."

Bunnie fell over again. "I bet!"

"_Bunnie_!" both the hedgehog and the squirrel snapped in unison.

(At the forest edge…)

It started as nothing more than a sparkle, a glimmer of light on the horizon near dusk. It grew with startling speed, growing closer as the howl of ripping air started to caress the tree-trunks at the edge of the great forest. The ball of blazing white light, semi-transparent on the sides, rushed to a halt at the forest-edge. Uncoiling like liquid flowing around a rock, the sphere vanished into the glowing panels, lines, and tubes on the body of the resurrected Metal Sonic robot.

His optics glimmered as the three razor-fins on his head revved, roaring viciously at the trees. The faceplate vented fine mist just before the robot reeled back with his right fist, and slammed it into the first tree, splintering the trunk so violently that the tree fell in half to his left. Then, he started to march forward, bashing and clawing at trees as he walked into the forest.

Suddenly he shouted. "Sally! I want Sally!" And the fins on his back revved again.

High above him, just performing some normal air-patrols, Dulcy caught the sound of crashing trees, and then saw the path the robot was bashing into the forest, shouting for the princess. The dragon turned gravely worried. "This is _not_ good." She twisted around, and rushed back to Knothole.

At the rebel hideout, it had been widely agreed, after hearing of Uncle Chuck's choice to return to Robotropolis, that the doomsday device was their real focus, and always should have been. They needed to destroy it while Robotnik was focusing elsewhere.

Sally was leaning over a map out on the grassy field with Bunnie, Sonic, Antoine, and several other rebels, including Rotor. "With that robot out there, we can't just attack, even with Sonic for a distraction," Sally listed off seriously, pointing to the base of the doomsday facility tower. "I think we need to find one of the access tunnels to its lower levels, and come in from below."

Antoine was gnawing on his lower-lip. "And once we are being inside, ma Prinzess?"

The squirrel woman lifted Nicole from her boot. "Nicole, display schematics for the Doomsday facility."

"Processing, Sally…" And a ray of light created a blue and black out-line of the facility's interior.

Looking to Antoine with her bright blue eyes, the leader of the resistance smiled. "Thanks to Uncle Chuck, we know exactly what to hit once we're inside. We just have to get in."

Rotor nodded. "And I've been rigging up more heavy-duty weaponry designed to target robots especially. I've found a gas compound that corrodes metal an accelerated rate. Once I have a good delivery system for it, I'll let you guys know."

Sonic grinned, giving a thumbs up. "Way past cool, Rotor."

"Sally!"

Everyone looked up, startled, and then dove for the ground as Dulcy careened just over them, slamming into the grass and skidding to a halt just shy of really damaging one of the cottages. The dragon, however, stumbled back up, not giving herself a chance to be confused as she found Sally with her still shaking eyes. "Sally, the robot's in the forest!"

A shocked gasp rushed through the group, even Sonic gawking at the dragon. Sally's heart sank through her feet. "…How far, Dulcy?"

"Not very deep yet. He's just bashing trees down and shouting for you. I think he wants to you go meet him or something crazy like that."

Bunnie firmed. "Well that darn rust-bucket sure has lost it, hasn't 'e? What's the plan, Sally-girl?"

Hopping away already, Rotor waved to them. "I'll see if I can't get some of that compound rigged up to toss at it!"

Sally firmed down at the map, only vaguely registering Rotor's offered idea. Bunnie waited, assuming the squirrel just needed time to think of a good strategy, but Sonic stepped closer to their leader, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"…We'll stop it this time, Sal."

She came out of her daze, and gave him a half-smile, confident and calm. Looking back at the map as Sonic stepped back from her, however, she turned distant and grave herself. The memory of that cold arm and hand grasping her, moving through her fur… Her skin was crawling already, but… The machine had not harmed her, not physically. And it was obviously deliberate on the part of the robot.

"Rotor!" she suddenly called loudly.

The walrus stopped in the distance. "Yeah, Princess?"

"Put some of that gas in a canister for personal use. I'll bring it with me just in case."

Rotor paused awkwardly as everyone stared at the young squirrel woman. Sonic's eyes were widening. "Wait… Sal, you're not sayin'--" she cut him off with a calm look.

"He wants me, Sonic, and he's incredibly dangerous. I think I can manipulate his focus on me to some kind of benefit, or at least stop him from attacking us."

Bunnie stomped up. "Now wait a darn second, here, Sally-girl! There is no way any of us are jus' gonna let ya hand yourself over to that … _thing_!"

"Bunnie's right, Sal. I'm not letting you go out there alone!" Sonic proclaimed quite firmly himself.

Sally shook her head firmly. "No, not this time. You saw it, Sonic. He won't hurt me. He did, however, attack you and Antoine when you tried to get between us. I have to do this alone. I have the best shot of getting anything done… even if it's just getting close enough to douse it in that stuff Rotor's discovered."

It seemed they were all silenced, but Bunnie had her arms crossed, and Sonic looked as though he'd swallowed a rotting chili-dog. Sally nodded to them, her manner entirely stoic and firm, and walked to the edge of the grassy clearing. In a few minutes, Rotor came up to her, holding out a jar filled with green fluid. She smiled calmly, nodded her thanks, and told him to return to the others.

She was just moving out of sight with a familiar rush caught up to her, and Sonic appeared in her way, his face set firmly. Sally did pause, looking at him in a similar manner to his own. "I have to do this, Sonic. It's me he wants, I can't waste lives."

"I'm not gonna let you do this, Sal."

Sally looked down to the side coldly. "It has to be done. Stand aside."

She was startled despite her attempted stoicism when Sonic grabbed her shoulders, shaking her firmly. "No! I saw you, Sal! I saw you after that monster touched you! You do _not_ have to sacrifice your heart to that thing! Your dignity, your feelings, all of it! I saw how much that hurt before, I will _not_ let you do it again!"

It cracked her shell. The princess blinked at him, her eyes widened. "…I'm the leader, Sonic," her face became serious, but was sincere this time. It was the real Sally talking. "I have to be willing to give myself up for my people, our world… I…" She closed her eyes, bowing her head.

Sonic's hands slowly came away from her shoulders, the hedgehog looking at her with a deep sorrow in his own eyes.

The squirrel steadied herself with a breath. "I can't tell you… how much it means to me that you'd see it. Understand how I felt. You're my best friend, Sonic. …You have to let me go, or I'm not fighting for anything, I'm just giving Robotnik trouble. This is when it matters."

"But none of us want you to do this, Sal. No one is asking you to … to let that thing crush your heart into the ground."

Sally bowed her head again, her brow shaking faintly. Those cold metal fingers running over her cheek… "No… You're all good people, you wouldn't ask it. I have to give it, or I'm not who I say I am." And she started past him, her face focused and distant again.

"No!"

She actually yelped as the hedgehog grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. She was about to resist him, shout at him for grabbing her so violently, when she gawked at his face.

Tears were in his eyes, but his face was rigid with focus. He was completely in his right mind, but his emotions were pouring out. "I can't stand it!" he managed through a tight throat. "I won't let that thing touch you! I know you, how kind you are. Maybe you can hand your own heart over to that monster, but I can't. Your heart is what I'm fighting for, Sal! So you can find your father, free Mobius, and smile that amazing smile you always do without worrying about Robotnik anymore." His jaw clenched, and then he finished, "There is no way I'm leaving you alone with that copy."

"S-Sonic…" she breathed, looking at his eyes.

He looked down, at his hand clenched around her arm, and quickly let go, bowing his head. "…I'm sorry… Did… Did I hurt your arm?"

The squirrel slowly shook her head. "No… you just startled me…"

A little nod showed that he'd heard her.

Sally slowly put her hand on his shoulder. "…Sonic… I had no idea you felt like this…"

He was blushing this time, but remained as grave and sad as before. "I didn't really… realize it myself until this whole… Metal Sonic… thing…" He looked up into her eyes again, his head slowly shaking. "I can't let you get hurt like that again, Sal. Not after Bunnie, not after that look on your face." He winced a bit. "…Not after I know what it's like to hold you in my arms and have you relax because I'm there."

Sally blushed herself, looking down, but was serious also. "… I didn't mean to do this to you, Sonic… I'm so sorry…"

His hand came up, and cupped her cheek. It brought her face up gently, her eyebrows rising at his gentle touch. "But I'm glad you did, Sal… I can't do this… this whole… thing… Not without you."

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she shivered, looking at him sorrowfully. "…Please don't tell me this now…"

"I have to… I can't let you face that thing alone."

She finally sank her face down into his shoulder. "…I don't want to face this without you, Sonic. Any of it… He tried to kill you just for coming near me, but he didn't attack me. I have to take this chance. I can't put your life in danger if I can avoid it."

"…Look at me."

She eased back, looking into his eyes. Sonic softly cradled her jaw in his hands, focusing into her saddened gaze. "We're in this together, Sal."

"Together…" she echoed breathlessly.

Her hero nodded gently. Sonic started to talk quietly again, but he was silenced.

Sally just pushed closer, and closed his mouth with her own, her eyes falling shut as she reached up between his arms to hold his cheeks. Sonic blushed powerfully, startled, but then his eyes fell closed as well, and he relaxed closer to her, his thumbs caressing the fur under her eyes.

She held the kiss, stroking her hands down onto his neck softly, not wanting to let go, nor pull away. It was so wonderful near him, it felt so safe, there was so much hope. She didn't even know how electrified he felt, to have her warm lips caressing his own, willingly, happily, opening her heart in front of him. He wanted time to freeze right there, so he could hold her forever, keep her safe, keep her happy.

But, at length, they broke their kiss… smiling gently at each other. Sally almost laughed, blushing. "I… hadn't realized how long I've wanted to do that…"

Her hero smirked. "I didn't know I'd been waiting for it even longer."

She squeaked, embarrassed and amused, burying her face in his shoulder. They both became serious again, their happy reverie melting under the ominous knowledge of Metal Sonic closing in on their home.

Sally slowly pushed back from Sonic, and looked into his eyes evenly, equally. "How can I not face him, Sonic? I can't be such a coward."

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Remember the fight at the tower? How he only got angry when I got in the way?"

She nodded. "So you're willing to just stand there unless it gets out of hand?" her incredulous voice was both grave and softly amused. She was always fond of his brash courage, it just wasn't tactically wise.

This time, however, her beloved hedgehog looked her in the eyes with no pretense, no put-on attitude. He just said, "I'll never run again, if it'll keep me at your side."

Her eyes widened at the deep sentiment coming from his lips.

"Just please let me be there in case he goes psycho. I know you're strong, Sal, you can handle that pervert touching you, but he's a killing machine, you know that better than most. You _need_ back up."

It was calm, logical, and real. Sally finally exhaled, and nodded to him. "You're right. I shouldn't take foolish risks beyond necessity." She smiled softly after finishing. "Mind carrying me?"

"Your loyal stead, as ever, my lady!" he declared with much show and bravado, doing a big bow and waving his arms down.

Sally's giggle was cut off with a playful yelp as the speedy hedgehog zipped her off her feet, and charged through the forest.

(Later…)

Metal Sonic was spinning around, his fist aiming for yet another tree-trunk, when he froze, his optics locking deeper into the forest, flashing with red light. Sonic blazed up, stopping about ten meters away from the robot, and let Sally down from his arms. Metal narrowed his optics at Sonic, but the blue hedgehog stepped a few paces away from Sally, firmly angered at having to do so for the sake of the plan. Sally herself was stoic again, firm and focused, with the jar of chemicals strapped under her vest on her back. "You wanted me," she called firmly.

The robot focused back on her, and slowly nodded. He eased upright from his lunging stance, and walked toward her. Sally straightened her posture, just looking at him, waiting for him. Metal closed to within just a few paces, Sonic glowering, but unmoved.

"What do you want?" Sally challenged firmly.

Metal's left claw came up, contorting faintly as if already stroking her cheek, but still nearly a meter away. "I want to touch your face…"

Sonic's jaw clenched, but Sally just tilted her face up slightly. "Fine. Touch my face."

Metal came closer, his hand reaching out. Though the princess was visibly fine, she was disciplining a shiver in her spine. But the robot stopped, his hand hovering centimeters from the fur on her cheek. Her eyes allowed some faint curiosity to appear as he actually shivered, his claw shaking near her face. It was as if some invisible force were freezing him before he could contact her fur. Sonic was watching with grim intrigue at this point.

Finally, Metal's voice chilled the air in front of Sally's nose. "You do not want me to."

Her brow creased faintly. "No, I do not."

His optics seemed to sharpen, but she couldn't tell why this time. It was a rage… but he was staring through her, not at her as he was consumed by it. When he glanced at Sonic with the same cold ferocity, Sally's heart almost went hollow… but then it spoke again.

"Because I am not Sonic."

Both of the organic creatures blinked at him.

Metal actually stepped back, his entire body shaking. "Won't… smile for… me… Only… Sonic… I am not… Sonic…"

Abruptly his right claw shot out, toward Sally. Sonic jerked to attack him, but Sally snapped her left hand toward her hero. "No, look," she whispered sharply.

Metal had clamped his left hand around his right forearm, literally restraining himself from reaching for her. "She won't… smile… for me… Can't… touch… Won't… smile…"

Sally focused on him, mixed between curiosity and disgust still. There was, however, a bit of pity starting to mix into her feelings. "You're obeying my will?"

He twitched, his optics flickering at her. "…Yessss." He twitched again, then added, "You don't… smile at me… Only friends… and him…"

But in that exact moment, far away from the three in the forest, deep in the heart of the industrial facility of Robotropolis, Robotnik sneered. He rubbed his hands together, and then reached down, commanding his prepared signal to broadcast…

And Metal Sonic suddenly lurched, his false voice distorting into a screech. Sally jerked back, Sonic leaping in front of her. The robot's back arched, his razor-fins revving violently as his optics flickered and flashed.

"P-priority 1! Freedom fighters! Priority 1… Smile." He started to twist and jerk as his programming warred with itself, his new adaptations and old, systemic rules clashing inside his neurological matrix. "Destroy targets! Want smile! W-want… destroy… w-want…"

Sonic pushed Sally further back. "It's all the old programming. Looks like you broke 'im, Sal… again." He actually smirked with some of his old confidence.

Sally dryly glared at his spines. "Not now, Sonic… He's completely divided, though. What would cause this?"

Suddenly the robot grabbed his own head, and roared with animalistic fury, his faceplate venting mist through the air. "ENOUGH!" It startled both of the organics in front of him, his optics flaring as his razor-fins revved with constant ferocity. "I… will not… Attack targets! NO!" He lurched back, arching, his claws wrenching through the air. "I will _not kill her_!" The programming war started to shatter, break down inside him. "I want her to smile at me!" He finally folded over himself, and went very still, the fins halting as his body faintly shifted with air-recycling.

Sally eased around Sonic, eyeing the robot warily. It was obviously still active. Sonic glanced at her side-long, and she slowly nodded, then spoke. "What is your priority 1?"

Metal Sonic raised his head, looking at her with his red optics, and then slowly uprighted. "…I make my own priorities." He seemed calm, indeed mechanical. "You will not smile at me for many reasons. Currently, I function so that you will smile at me."

Sonic blinked at him, but Sally stepped out from behind her hero completely, and approached the robot, a grave curiosity in her eyes as she started to realize something. "…You want me to smile at you?"

The robot nodded.

"So you're willing to do things that will make me smile?"

Now Sonic could see where she was going with this. He smirked, and crossed his arms, waiting to see how it panned out.

Metal nodded again. "Ideally, I could join the resistance fighters, so as best to optimize common time of activity, and best produce results that will ensure your smile."

Sally firmed, looking at him. "Destroying trees in our forest does not make me want to smile, robot."

His optics flickered, and he turned to the nearest shattered stump. He walked over, gripped the several-ton tree he'd knocked down, and hefted it up with rather frightful ease, planting it down on the shattered stump. When he waited there, however, he realized it would not hold together, and his systems informed him that any energy bindings would simply set the plant on fire. He let it fall down to the side again, with a loud crash.

Looking back to Sally, he said, "I can not repair the trees."

Sally nodded, but was resisting a smile. "Trees take centuries to grow, but they can be destroyed very easily. Will you obey my commands as a resistance fighter, or will you simply wait for me to smile at you, and then revert to some other priority?"

Metal Sonic was still for a moment, processing the information she gave him, and monitoring her muscle-structure, vital signatures, and voice patterns. "It is a repeating priority. You smile frequently at him," he looked to Sonic for a moment, "but never at me."

"So you want to keep making me smile?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking at him dryly.

"Yes."

"Work for the resistance, and I'll start smiling at you… We need a better name for you now, don't we?"

"You may designate me as you wish, but I will do as you say."

Sally raised an eyebrow again, and then let herself smile a bit at him. She was a bit surprised, though she remained calm, at how much it affected the robot. His optics widened, flashed, and his razor-fins rushed through one brief-cycle.

"See?" she decided to say casually, tossing one hand into an airy wave.

_Smiled… at me…_ He slowly nodded.

Sonic stepped up, and put his arm across Sally's shoulders, testing the robot as Sally smiled gently at him. He smiled at her as well, glad of the real excuse. The machine did seem bothered, but did not move. "You were called Metal Sonic, right?" the hedgehog asked first.

The robot nodded.

Sonic shrugged, and looked to the princess. "Shorten it? Call 'im… Metic or something?"

Sally glanced off. "Metic… hmm… That works. Do you mind being called Metic?" she asked the robot directly.

"Designation logged. I am Metic."

Sally nodded. Sonic eased away from her. He'd not been trying to be too familiar with her, though happy of the embrace. The squirrel, however, gave Metic a firm look. "I have a question for you, Metic."

"Ask."

"You tried to kill me, Bunnie, and Antoine before. Why?"

"I was programmed to."

"And what's changed?"

His optics flickered. "I make my own programming." Memory was accessed, and he focused on Sally again. "You flinch at my proximity because of that battle, because of the damage to the one named Bunnie."

Sally firmed darkly. "You tore her apart."

"Sal," Sonic muttered in warning.

Metic, however, shrank one optic, as if considering the information. His systems were analyzing Sally's mood-shift, expression, and tone. It became a sub-priority, recognized as a major obstacle to her smiling at him, this 'tearing apart' of Bunnie. "She is dead?"

"Fortunately for you, no," Sally continued. "We managed to replace her limbs, but now she will never be de-roboticized."

"There is no such device."

"Not yet!" Sally snapped darkly.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at the princess. He realized her calm humor with the robot had been more forced than he'd first thought. She still remembered how disgusting it felt to be held, how much pain Metic had caused Bunnie… was still causing her.

Other sub-priorities were added to Metic's self-programming. "Understood… Princess."

Sally blinked. "You used my name before."

"You don't want me to."

Her eyebrows rose, and Sonic frowned with some manner of being impressed.

"You're actually thinking for yourself… You're predicting my ideas based on the signals I'm giving, aren't you?" Sally checked, a bit intrigued by this point.

"Correct."

Sonic smirked. "Not like it takes a genius to figure out you don't like him…"

"Correct."

That the robot responded so before Sally could even warn Sonic to be careful of his temper startled the princess, and she blinked at him. "You know I don't like you, but you're still willing to serve me?"

"My priority is your smile."

She smirked. "So you don't care if I hate you?"

"You don't smile at me if you hate me."

Sonic blinked. "…So you're hoping she'll start liking you?"

"All other functional paths are counter to priority."

The squirrel nodded slowly. "You understand that trying to make me smile will just make it less and less likely."

"Correct, Princess." Since he'd calmed after the programming war, Metic hadn't moved more than his optics while speaking with them.

Seeing the robot so passive, Sonic stepped over to Metic, standing beside him, and tapped the robot's chest with his knuckle. "Not bad…" He leaned back, as if comparing profiles. "Not as cool as the original of course."

Sally, however, was worried by the dark shrink the robot's optics went through as they focused side-long on the hedgehog. "Sonic… come back here…"

He blinked at her, saw her seriousness, and trotted back to her side quickly. She looked back to Metic. "Would you attack those who touched you? Or aggravated you in some way?"

Metic looked at her more calmly. "Harming your friends will not make you smile."

"Even if they attacked you?" Sally gravely checked, worried about the reaction from the other rebels if they brought him back.

"If damage was unavoidable, I would retreat. My priority is your smile."

Sonic blinked. "Whoa, so… you'd like… die to get her to smile?" He was snickering.

"Correct."

They both stared at the robot.

"Seriously?" Sonic asked, gawking.

Metic started to respond in one manner, and then his optics slanted at the hedgehog, and he said, "Seriously." It almost sounded like dry humor in his synthetic voice. Indeed, he sounded more dead-pan than like a monotone computer.

Sally blinked, realization washing over her face. "I get it! Robotnik programmed you with all of the data he has on Sonic! You have his personality in you, that's why you thought you were him!"

Focusing back on her, Metic nodded faintly. "Correct, Princess."

Sonic cringed. "Ew, you mean this thing has… my… emotions and stuff or something?"

Sally waved him down. "Don't be ridiculous, just recordable patterns of behavior."

Metic suddenly spoke in a fully toned, lively manner. "Gotta juice, kids!"

The real hedgehog went a bit pale, staring at the robot, while Sally was just startled by the _life_ in the robot's voice. Then, seeing Sonic's reaction, she started to giggle. "Relax, Sonic! He's just mimicking you!"

Seeing her humor and lightness, Metic's optics relaxed open, analyzing her behavior down to the finest detail, even how the fur shook on her shoulders from the waves of her muscles as she giggled. _Amused by his disturbance… Smiling for him._

Sonic glowered at Sally, but then they both noticed the way the machine was looking at her, his head even tilted slightly. Sally turned a bit grave, disturbed that he was analyzing her so closely. He noticed that, too, of course, and immediately broke his stare, looking down at the grass. It let Sally relax a bit, and she considered him. _He gets it, though… He just hasn't experienced it enough. This is… so strange. I almost feel bad for him now… But he's the one who…_ She shut her eyes against the memories.

Turning around, the princess waved. "Come on, Metic. Follow Sonic and me. If you have any way Robotnik can track you, please find a way to stop it."

Metic paused, tilting his head, and then his right claw came up, and actually _rammed_ into the side of his own head. Sonic and Sally stared in mild horror as the robot, his optics dimming, wrenched a small device out of his own head. It was blinking periodically before it was crushed to dust in his palm.

And then they saw something even more horrifying for its implications. The hole in his head warped backed together, and evened out as his body glowed through the trace-lines and diamond-glass parts, his optics returning to their usual brightness. "All tracking devices removed, Princess."

Sonic gulped. "You really weren't kidding. You'd tear yourself apart if she asked you to."

"You wouldn't?" Metic asked Sonic flatly, staring at him.

Sally blinked at the response, and looked to Sonic softly. The hedgehog glared at the robot. "…I'd do anything for her."

"So would I."

It disturbed Sally this time. "Enough, Metic. Thank you for removing the device. Let's go."

Sonic picked her up, and she smiled gently at him to show she was alright. Metic waited, bracing, and when Sonic shot off, he rushed after them, keeping a few meters behind. As he ran, Sonic whispered to Sally. "This is going to be hard to get past the others. Especially Bunnie…"

His love nodded, quite grave. "I know… We're still on thin ice with him in that respect. So let's be careful, and remember he's a real asset to us. Try to defend that when the others get mad… Please."

Sonic looked at her seriously, but then nodded. "I'm with you on this one."

She smiled, and put her forehead against his jaw. "And I can't thank you enough."

It let him smile as well.

Behind them, Metic saw it, though they didn't realize he heard every word they said as well. _Asset. Understood. Must not give resistance fighters additional reasons to feel threatened. Princess wants an asset._ His memory files activated again, re-playing Bunnie's pained scream and the destruction of her three limbs. _If Bunnie smiles, it will help Sally smile._ It would greatly affect his sub-priority of one of the major obstacles to the princess' smile. He had a chance, he would not waste it. …But she did smile so easily for the original.

(The dark city…)

Snively was twitching faintly as he stared across the dark, black-metal chamber at Robotnik. The tyrant was leaning over in his chair, his modified eyes glaring down into the little screen in front of him. It showed static. Then, however, he sat back, and rotated the throne around to look at his small nephew. "Snively, it is time to focus back on Doomsday. The modifications should be under way already, yes?" His voice was dangerously calm.

Quickly snapping a data-board up from the console, Snively read it over, and nodded, sweating. "Y-yes, sah. The tunneling process completed on schedule, and the changes are already being implemented. It is roughly twelve-percent complete."

Robotnik nodded slowly, turned the throne back to the larger screens. "Good. That's very good, Snively." He laced his fingers together, and looked at the replay of the data-war, which had been waged inside Metic's head. _But how…? I can't waste time on the contraption now, of course, but how did this happen? He's still a machine, behavior based on programming, but the programming itself is… adapting around priorities he set for himself. No matter. I'll just have to take him apart to see what happened after reducing this entire planet to a polluted, metallic cityscape… Oh how beautiful it will be._

Snively cringed as the cold, satisfied laugh echoed through the chamber.

(Elsewhere…)

Under Robotropolis, a particular service-bot, resembling a canister with a wide, visor-equipped head, tubular arms, and little treads instead of legs, rolled down onto a catwalk… and froze in its tracks. Inside the robot, Uncle Chuck himself stared in growing dread at the start of the massive tunnel the swat-bot army had dug toward the Doomsday device.

_Great shades of Mobius… He never gave up on it. I have to find out more!_

The little robot rapidly rolled down onto the main floor, and spotted a convoy of like-designed robots that were rushing into the wide tunnel. They made swift progress, but the tunnel was incredibly long. More than that, Sir Charles could see huge patrols of swat-bots everywhere. Though he hadn't seen the original force start marching into the beginnings of the tunnel, he was quickly getting an idea of its true number.

After a surprisingly long ride, Uncle Chuck guided his camouflage robot up onto a ramp in a large chamber filled with massive tubes, a labyrinth of catwalks rising and crossing high above, and bright lights glaring all around the black metal walls. He knew where he was… inside Doomsday, below ground level.

What startled him was the obvious changes the army of swat-bots and service-bots were conducting on just the chamber he could see. The huge tubes were being re-connected to different junctions, and shipments of parts were crossing the ceiling to get to the rest of the huge facility. Robotnik was practically rebuilding the facility from the inside out, Sir Charles could tell.

_No wonder he was pulling everything into the main facility. He was just shipping it out underground… But he could have had it up and running… _weeks_ ago by now. He's changing it completely. All the core systems are being ripped out and re-built._

Rolling over to a console with other service-bots, Uncle Chuck quickly accessed the basic data-structure. He was surprised again. Every level, even the most basic information, was quadruple encrypted with randomized access keys. Without a built-in transponder to attune to it, he would need hours. But so much security would slow the workers down even more. What on Mobius was Robotnik doing?

Though frustrated by the lack of access, Uncle Chuck knew enough to warn Knothole, and that's exactly what he had to do next. Backing up, the little service-bot that contained him revved back down into the huge tunnel. He'd modeled the speed after the same rate used by service-bots responding to command-priority requests. Effectively, he was running as if another job had just drafted him. Staying out of the way of the patrolling swat-bots to avoid unnecessary complications, he reached the basement of the central tower in Robotropolis, and quickly made his way back into the city itself.

Once back in his little hideout, Sir Charles got out of the suit, ran to his console, and brought a messenger bird-bot up from a storage chamber inside the console itself. He wrote down the basic facts as clearly as he could, rolled it up, and stuffed it down in the little robot's message chamber. "Go!"

The robotic bird shot off like a bolt, registering the urgency in his voice as an unspoken command to use maximum speed. Uncle Chuck slumped back into his chair, holding a hand to his forehead. "The only reason we're not dead already is because he changed plans…"

(Author's Note)

Thanks for the glowing reviews all. I really appreciate them. With this chapter, we see the real arc I've intended for 'Metic' from the very beginning. Now, the question is, can his warped programming actually turn him into an ally, or is too chaotic to work with? The Metic arc of the plot, obviously the intended focus by the title of the story, will make or break the story for the reader. You either like what I'm doing, or you don't. If you do like it, however, the next chapter should get your attention.

Regarding the previous chapter, I especially enjoyed Sally's reaction to the robot trying to show her 'affection' (and, of course, I really enjoy the Sally moments in this chapter in particular). I felt the emotional chaos of her situation was authentic, I felt it worked. I hope that came across for you guys. And I got a particular enjoyment out of 'Metic' (Metal at the time) in that brief moment where he says, "Full stop," after catching Sonic. Just cold, intimidating, and scary. I liked it.

The obvious romantic content of this chapter, and the pan-story focus on the emotional state of characters is what makes this fan-fic unique for me as a writer. The focus on emotions, their causes, and reactions is much bigger in this fan-fic than most of my work. Indeed, I'd say the emotions are almost a sub-plot unto themselves, responding to the context of the 'main' plot. I didn't really intend this when I first envisioned the story, but I like it. I hope you guys do, too.


	7. To Smile

Chapter 7: "To Smile"

Air rushed in a familiar roar to the resistance fighters, and Bunnie led the group of them running out to meet Sonic, hoping for the best. Tails, who had been updated in the interim, was very anxious for his dear Aunt Sally, and flew in, landing just behind Bunnie, near Rotor and Antoine with a larger crowd behind them. What came up to stop in front of them was both a relief and a horrid shock.

Sally quickly hopped out of Sonic's arms, and raised her hands to her friends allies. "Wait, wait… It's alright."

Everyone was reaching for some kind of weapon, others had started to run for explosives near the workshop, but they paused, waiting after Sally's calming words. Sonic stood by with her… and they both turned to look at Metic, who had simply halted behind them. The ominously forged machine let his red optics glide across the tensed resistance fighters. Their smiles meant much less to him, but they all added to the difficulty in making Sally smile. Then he focused on Bunnie, his optics tightening.

Bunnie herself stared at the robot with a mixture of a grimace and horror, knowing from the others that it was the monster that had torn her limbs off.

Sally spoke again when the silence after her starting comment proved painfully awkward. "Please calm down. He's loyal to me now. He's obsessed with seeing me smile, so he's going to work for us. I promise you, everyone, he is not a threat to us."

Sonic stood up at her side. "She's right, guys. He won't do anything that'd upset Sal. It's weird, we know, but it's true, too." He smirked back at the robot. "Isn't it, Metic?"

The robot looked at him. "Correct."

Rotor, grave, finally replied, "I'll buy it if you two say so, but I don't like this, Sally. He's a killing machine, and this could all just be a trick from Robotnik. I mean after what he did to…" The walrus wisely shut his mouth before he said his friend's name.

This caused everyone, even the young, but shrewd Tails to focus on the cyborg woman. The mood of the moment turned decidedly wary, as it was clear Bunnie was near to either screaming, diving at the machine, or just snapping completely, her fists both clenched.

Sally exhaled tensely, and stepped toward her friend. "Bunnie… You're the one he hurt the most. If you can't stand him, I'll… send him away or something."

The rabbit woman focused on her friend at last, and slowly shook her head, going calm and firm. "No, Sally-girl. I understand. If he's really workin' for you, he's a big advantage…" She looked down flatly, her arms shaking. "But… But I ain't gonna work with him any time soon, if that's alright?"

Compared to how she could have reacted, it was amazing consideration from the incredibly strong young woman. Sally put a hand on her shoulder, nodding slowly. "Absolutely, Bunnie. Thank you so much for understanding. I really think he'll help us."

"Help you, darlin', not us."

The princess nodded. "True."

It was probably best that Bunnie wasn't looking ahead at that moment. Metic was staring at her intently, his systems recording her vitals, body-language, tone of voice, muscle-motion, and the overall manner it all created. Indeed, Bunnie's smile would be the greatest obstacle to Sally's, and Metic added more priority than he already had.

Rotor, however, saw what the robot was doing, and his expression turned surprisingly dark for the normally warm-mannered walrus. Antoine, for his part, was glaring at the robot, remembering all too clearly exactly what it had done to Bunnie and Sally each.

Surprisingly, Tails stepped out from the group, past his two favorites aunts, Dulcy looking on anxiously from the back of the crowd, and approached Sonic and Metic both. "So you're on our side now?" he asked of the tall, black, silver, and glass machine.

Metic focused down on the child, lacking any specific data. He simply blinked.

Sonic stepped closer to Tails, keeping the boy from straying too close. Sally turned, a bit wary as well, but Bunnie gawked in alarm. "Tails! Stay away from it, darlin'!"

The little fox jerked, looking back at her as Sonic and Sally shared a grave look. Bunnie motioned to Tails. "Come back here, Tails. That thing's a weapon, not a new friend."

Sonic let go of the fox, but wanted to see how this exchange finished. Sally was also observant, not exactly disagreeing with Bunnie, but doubtful of the need for such obvious fear. Tails was still confused. "But doesn't he listen to Aunt Sally? Isn't he okay now?"

Bunnie looked at the boy fretfully, giving the robot a few dismissively fearful glances. She did not want him near it.

Metic observed her manner again, and finally addressed the young boy. "Listen to Bunnie, Tails."

Everyone blinked, even Bunnie momentarily startled by his support. She locked her eyes on the glowing red dots, which carefully focused on her as well. Tails looked back the robot, nodded mildly, and trotted back to hug Bunnie's right leg. The cyborg patted his head, but was staring at Metic with a firm curiosity in her green eyes.

"And are you thinking zis changes _anything_, robot?" Antoine finally snapped, getting Metic's (and the crowd's) attention. "We all know what you are! If ze prinzess is willing to overlook what you 'ave done, it eez to 'er credeet, but you will nevur be trusted 'ere!"

"Trust?" Metic queried, an optic-ridge rising.

Antoine was given pause by the sincerely uncertain tone in the robot's synthetic, low voice. It was as if the robot had never considered the idea before.

Metic looked to Sally. "What do you want me to do, Princess?"

Sally focused on him seriously, thinking over what had just happened, and not sure yet what she wanted of him.

Bunnie firmed. "Can you _do_ anything other than wreck stuff, rust-bucket?"

The princess winced. She wanted to tell Bunnie to ease off, but couldn't bring herself to correct the justified cyborg.

Metic looked to the rabbit himself. "I can manipulate machinery. The resistance requires new devices and weaponry, if my current data is still accurate."

"Rotor's got us covered, thanks," Bunnie retorted, dangerously short-tempered.

The walrus in question didn't have a big desire to work with the robot himself.

Sally closed her eyes, exhaling firmly. "Please stop, Bunnie…"

"What?" the rabbit blinked at her friend.

Sally lowered her head, not meeting the other woman's eyes. "You are completely justified in being so angry with him, but please let him help. If he can help us make better weapons or equipment, it will save lives."

It was clear Bunnie wanted to retort sharply, but stopped herself, frowning. "…Sorry, Sally-girl. I'm getting' too hot-headed. I'll go cool off." She carefully pulled Tails from her leg, and then marched off.

Sally turned to Metic, Sonic just not sure what to do to help. "Rotor is our chief engineer. If you're going to work with machines, you obey _his_ orders, understood? As if they were coming straight from me."

Metic nodded calmly. "Understood, princess."

Rotor cringed a bit, but stepped forward, hesitating before offering his hand. "…I'm Rotor."

Metic blinked down at the offered hand, and then put his own out. Rotor blinked as the robot completely missed his hand, and then chuckled a bit, grasping the metal claw, and shaking it. Metic finally understood, and his talons curled around Rotor's paw before their hands pulled apart.

In the gap, Tails had trotted back up to the robot. Sally spotted him, and reached back to Sonic, who looked down to the fox as well. He looked to Sally, but she just gave him a calm glance as well. They were going to see how it went.

The fox tapped Metic's knee. Rotor glanced down, and Metic did likewise… slowly.

Looking up at the dark robot's face, Tails asked, "Are you really a copy of Sonic?"

"That was my original design model, correct."

"But you're also the one that hurt Aunt Bunnie and Aunt Sally aren't you?"

"Correct."

"Why…?"

"I was programmed to."

"But you really hurt them. Why?"

Metic paused. "I did not understand that was counter to my goals."

Sally was watching intently at this point.

"But why did you want to hurt them in the first place? Aunt Bunnie is so nice and sweet, and she was in so much pain."

"I didn't want Bunnie to smile then," Metic answered, but his expression was turning more uncomfortably flat. He did not want to talk with the child.

Tails blinked. "But her smile is so happy! Why wouldn't you want to see her smile?"

"I do now."

Rotor blinked at the robot, and looked to Sally, who gave a faint shrug, her expression lighter than before.

Tails smiled a bit. "Well that's better, I guess. And you should thank Aunt Sally, too. If she didn't want you to stay, everybody would be really mean to you after what you did. You should be in big trouble, but she's letting you help out."

Metic's optics tightened in confusion, but Tails just trotted off, wandering after Bunnie to make sure she was okay. Sonic shared an interested look with Sally, only for both of them to focus on Metic when he stepped up to them.

"Thank you."

The princess blinked. "Excuse me…?"

"Thank you for letting me stay."

"Oh…" Sally was quite uncomfortable. "No… problem… Metic. Please, go with Rotor now. We need to get moving for more missions, soon."

He nodded, and turned to Rotor, who tipped his own head, and led the robot off toward the workshop.

Sonic smirked. "You've got him wrapped around your little finger, don't you, Sal?"

The princess shrugged awkwardly. "Apparently… I have to admit… he's more pitiful than terrifying to me right now… He was almost afraid of Tails…"

"Good. He deserves to be on the bottom rung until we sort him out more. So come on, let's get planning again!"

She giggled at him, and they started off. Metic heard her, of course, and his optics dimmed. He had to help Bunnie smile…

(Later…)

With Dulcy, Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine, and even Tails, the young leader of the resistance talked them through a plan to get into the belly of the Doomsday beast. She was just tracing her finger over a few areas of the schematic when a robot messenger bird fluttered down into view.

"Sally," Dulcy muttered, seeing it first with her peripheral vision so much higher than her friends'.

The princess looked up to the dragon, and then raised her hand out for the messenger-bot. It landed gently, and the message popped up. Letting the robot fly off, Sally unrolled the message. "It's from Uncle Chuck…" she trailed off, her eyes rapidly blazing down the piece of paper.

"From Unc? Well what's the deal, Sal?" Sonic quickly asked in his usual impatience.

The expression on the squirrel woman's face made everyone focus on her more intently. She felt sick to her stomach, and her grim façade made that much clear to her concerned allies. "…We have a serious problem," she more breathed than spoke.

Her mind whirling, she just handed the paper to Sonic, and leaned her hands on the tree-stump they were using as a table. Sonic blurred his eyes down the page, then leaned back. "No… no way…"

Bunnie stamped a foot finally. "Would one a-y'all tell us just what's goin' on?"

"It's Doomsday," Sally managed, her eyes shutting. "Robotnik created an underground… supply route. He's been completely remodeling it from the inside out. If he wasn't, we'd already be under attack by death-pods…"

Dulcy just stared, Bunnie's mouth falling open from the horror of the revelation, Antoine breaking out in a cold sweat the others could well-relate to, and even Tails realized how terrible the information really was, falling back on his tails, staring down at the grass. Aunt Bunnie, Aunt Sally, the forest, everything…

Suddenly Sally's hands clenched the map off the stump, and she gritted her teeth. With a sudden roar that startled her friends, especially Sonic, the young woman threw the map to the side, and slammed her fists down onto the smoothed wood. "I can't _believe_ I was this blind! We could all be dead already! I didn't even see it coming! All because I was just a co…" She stopped herself, breathing firmly down at the stump between her fists.

Easing closer, Sonic rested a hand on her shoulder. Her face snapped toward him, but she eased sadly, seeing his concern. Her dear hedgehog said, "It isn't your fault, Sal. Robotnik took us all for a loop on this one. Now come on. We need to get in gear, and juice a plan before that thing _is_ up and running."

Pulling herself back upright, Sally nodded to him, and gripped the hand on her shoulder with an affectionate squeeze. "You're right. Sorry." Then she turned to her friends. "Alright, everyone. This is it. I'm sure Uncle Chuck is already working on a way to confirm the interior design of the Doomsday facility, but we need to grind this out right now. Bunnie?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Tell Rotor we need that chemical of his ready to go, and in large numbers, by tomorrow night."

The cyborg ran off.

"Dulcy?"

She had the dragon's full attention.

"I don't mean to embarrass you, but please practice your landings. We need multiple teams in rapid succession. If you take yourself down, people will get hurt."

Dulcy did blush, but nodded seriously, and actually ran off, taking flight that moment.

And the leader of the resistance turned to her hero, Antoine, and little Tails. "This is a demolition mission. Tails, before you even ask, you can't come. This is the most dangerous mission yet, we can't watch out for you the way adults should for kids. Antoine?"

"Yes, ma Prinzess?"

"I need everyone available on this one. Can you handle placing explosives on your own?"

He paled, but clenched his jaw as he remembered the attack on Bunnie, and how helpless he had been for her and Sally each. "You may be counting on me, ma Prinzess."

Sally nodded to him in sincere appreciation, and focused on Sonic. Tails had taken his news surprisingly well, understanding how serious it all was this time. The blue-wonder, however, raised his eyebrows, not sure what she would tell him directly. "You'll be our front line, Sonic. Even if Robotnik's machines don't just go after you, you're the best fighter we've got."

He smirked. "Don't worry, Sal. I'll have any swat-bots falling apart before they even spot you."

She nodded, smiling at him.

Antoine risked speaking up. "…And what about ze robot? Is 'e going to be helping us, or no?"

Caught in uncertainty, Sally glanced at him, and then down. Sonic was grim, but didn't hesitate in saying, "He'll do anything you ask, Sal. He and I should be the front-line together."

It clearly surprised his dear friend, the young woman blinking up at him, a glimmer of relief in her beautiful blue eyes. "That wouldn't be a problem for you?"

"This is way past any of us. I'm not gonna blow this just because that stupid chrome-dome creeps me out. You didn't let it stop you."

He would never know how deeply she was touched by his choice of words in that very moment. In fact, the only thing keeping her from kissing him again, just to say thank you, were Tails and the nervous presence of Antoine just to either side. Sally opted for a meaningful smile and another nod to the blue hedgehog, which he understood well enough, and then turned to Tails. "You want to sit in on more planning?" There was soft humor in her voice this time.

The boy hopped into flight with excitement. "Thanks, Aunt Sally!"

She winked, and waved for the two men to follow them. "Let's get to work."

Sonic grinned at her back, and nudged Antoine in the ribs as they walked beside each other. Though Antoine remained a nervous, jittery fox, he'd toughed up for the princess and Bunnie, and Sonic saw it. They followed their commander as respectful allies if nothing else.

(Elsewhere…)

If air could be cut by a blade, it would have needed it between Rotor and the robotic copy of the blue hero as they both worked in the workshop. The walrus man kept checking over his shoulder, afraid that any second would bring the revelation that it was all a big trap, and he'd be dead too fast to warn anyone.

That moment never came as he walked into the main chamber of the workshop, and faced his odd companion. "Alright, Metic, I've shown you around, and Bunnie told me the latest from the Princess. Sally wants us to build a delivery system for the corrosive gas."

Metic locked his glowing eyes on the walrus. "Any and all weaponry capable of being constructed with current equipment, especially devices aiding in demolition of the Doomsday facility."

Rotor blinked. "Yeah… You just… guess?"

"Estimations based on previous records and behavior of the resistance." Metic turned, his optics scanning the room again, matching it with the data of the rest of the workshop. "There is need of a de-roboticizing device as well."

"Always, but it won't do any good if we're all dead first."

Only the memory of Sally telling him to obey Rotor as herself made Metic focus back on the walrus. "Weapons first, sir."

Rotor nodded, controlling his anxiety. "Weapons first, right." He walked over, pulled out some large scrolls of paper, and laid them out on the main table for Metic to see. "These are my current ideas. Pick out what you can build plenty of in about a day, and get to it."

Metic looked across all the little images, lines, dots, comments, and statistics Rotor had carefully drafted over his time with the resistance. "What supplies are available?"

"Everything in the store room. This is the end-game. If we don't take down Doomsday, we're cooked."

Logging the odd metaphor into his ever-growing memory, Metic nodded slowly, and, without looking, pointed to his left, to the raised platform at the back of the main workshop room. "Are those supplies accessible?"

Rotor nodded. "Yep, that too."

The robot turned, and walked up onto the platform, sitting himself on a stool. "Please begin to pull supplies closer to me."

Now annoyed, the walrus set his hands on his hips. "Hey, I'm the one in charge, robot. If anyone's going to be a gofer, it'll be--What the--?" He leapt clear across the workshop with fright, his arms snapping up.

Metic was suddenly engulfed in sparking, arcing white energy, his claws coming up, his optics glowing and razor-fins revving… and all of the metal, scrap, and junk parts suddenly rushed down onto the floor in front of him, and began to warp and snap together on their own, crackling in the white energy emanating from his mechanical body.

"To obey your original command, I will need a constant line of fresh supplies. If they run out, I will acquire them myself as-needed," Metic explained without breaking his flat tone, as if unfazed the sheer power rushing out of his body.

Rotor watched for a moment more, and gasped. Already, dozens of his project ideas were coming to life in front of him, all at the same time. Even the rapid-loading, elastic-balloon grenade pack for the chemicals he'd imagined, and briefly sketched up that morning. Realizing that Metic could simply craft machinery with his powers, his hands starting to reach down and aid the power in doing so, the walrus ran out of this workshop to get a bunch of workers together.

(Later…)

Already, the walls of the workshop were filling with completed bombs, weapons, armor, melee weapons, and several of the bomb-making chemical-packs for the new gas. Resistance fighters were forming a relay line most of the afternoon and on into the evening. Soon the store-room was running low, and Metic had enough supplies to keep going on his own. He was surrounded by partially completed machines, his hands blurring over devices in front of him, his powers fusing larger parts together at his sides and behind him.

Not wasting time, Rotor had started to work on smaller projects himself, just to have that one extra bomb that might save someone's life in a fight. Sally and Sonic had each stopped by before evening fell, and Rotor answered as many questions as he could. It was quite clear how the robot had gotten his body back, it was simply where the power itself came from that mystified them all.

Aside from answering any direct questions with simple answers, all Metic did was work on machinery. He had a temporary priority: weapons first.

That evening, however, there was just one last collection of parts to bring to the robot, and the most unlikely person offered to do it, to give the other hard workers a rest. Unable to fight on the front-lines, Bunnie Rabot had kept herself going the whole day, helping everywhere, because, by Mobius, she wouldn't leave a task undone if she could do it.

She walked into the workshop carrying a bin-full of parts and metal under her mechanical arm. Already, her green, made-up eyes were locked sourly on the robot on the other side, and she stomped up in front of him, just beyond the crackling energy that was building gear all around him. Pouring the parts onto a large pile to his forward left, she tossed the bin to the side, and then started to move away. Metic actually looked up, his true priorities awakening in her presence.

"The Princess will only smile when you smile," he said, his energy calming a bit, fading back below his head.

Bunnie stopped just before stepping off the platform, glancing over her shoulder darkly. "What are you talkin' about, anyway?"

"Because I attacked you." He remembered Sally's words. "Because I tore you apart."

She rounded on him, her eyes shivering with a violent mixture of emotions. Was it rage? Horror? Simple shock at his calm voice and morbid topic? Her ears snapped back as she rushed closer to him, her entire frame shaking with fury. "What the flippin' stars are you talkin' about, you blasted machine?"

"You do not smile at me because I tore your limbs off," he answered as calmly as before.

Bunnie was livid. "You _expect_ me to smile at you? You tried to _kill_ her! The one you're so obsessed with protectin'! Smilin'! You tried to kill her, and when I stopped you, you cut me apart like a heap of scrap!" she emphasized by slamming her furry hand down into her upper-arm in a cutting motion. "And now I'm stuck like this! For the rest of my life! You've always been metal, all your cold, hard life! I had a chance! A small one, but I had it! I coulda been normal again! I don't regret savin' my friends life from your cuttin' edges, but you did this ta me. YOU did! Look at it!" she snapped her metal and plastic hand up in front of his face. "Now I'm like you! Most of me is a robot! And if I want to move around, have any kind of life, it'll _stay that way_!"

Metic seemed vaguely overwhelmed, his optics broadening as she roared and raged at him, his sensors trying to keep up with all of the data she was pouring on him.

Bunnie clenched her metal fist, pulling it away from him slowly. Her jaw clenched, and she continued through gritted teeth. "You better do what you promised, robot, or I swear by all the stars in heaven and trees on Mobius, I will break you apart and use you for scrap metal with my own _two hands_!"

An optic-ridge quirked, but not in incredulity. In fact, the robot was quite certain she would succeed in doing exactly that given her offered criteria. There was a focus and determination in her manner, in her blazing emerald eyes that no programming or prime directive could match.

But then she changed. Bunnie's face fell ever-so-faintly, and her eyes shivered as she held herself upright. "Do you know how it felt?"

"I do not understand."

Her lips firmed, but tears started to drip slowly from her eyes. "Do you have… any idea… how much pain you… caused me…? How much it burned? …How much it felt like I was splitting apart from the inside out? And even that…" her voice gave out, and she dipped her head. Firm rage pulled her face back up to him. "Even that," she ground out through her teeth, "wasn't nothin' compared to what it was like inside. When I found out… I'd never… get my old body back… after all that." The hatred returned, and this time it blazed in full glory. She didn't have to hide it from her friends, or worry about snapping at an innocent person. Her attacker was there, in front of her, no doubt, no denial, only certainty. "And _you_ did it. You ruined my life. Robotnik just changed it. You ruined it."

Bunnie raised her left hand up at him, clawing it as the entire limb shivered. "I'll never be able to hold my children in my hands without them feelin' cold metal. I'll never be able to run without a can of _oil_ in my pack. I have to let one of my friends look at me like some kind a-machine to tinker on when my arm hurts, or my legs feel funny. I can't even be bashful about my legs!" A deep blush, from all the embarrassments she could remember, rushed over her bristling cheeks, but there was too much anger to let her shrink away in shame this time. And it was a machine anyway, what did it care of privacy? Of intimacy?

Metic was silent with her for a long, tense moment. His faceplate vented subtly, and then he simply said, "Understood, ma'am."

How she longed to crush his head in, use her metal limbs to do something organic limbs never could, just to make her feel like they'd been needed for _something_. For what he did, the fear in Sally's eyes, the excruciating pain, the loss of hope… But she just shook her head at him, and twisted, marching away.

"Do you want your arm and legs back?"

She froze, actually twitching as she faced away from him. Was it just the sheer stupidity of the thing? Making sure it understood why she was so angry? Suddenly everything spiraled down into a broiling rage in her chest, and it all snapped apart. Bunnie just wrenched around, actually snarling at him as her left arm reeled back…

A loud, metallic _crack_ filled the air, Metic's head snapping down to his left, with Bunnie leaned into a full-body smack across his face with her robotic hand, almost falling over the pile of half-finished devices between them.

Two things happened in the same instant. Metic's optics flared as his razor-fins roared, and Bunnie's face fell with horrified shock. Her mind fell back into place, remembering how _easily_ he had just ripped her body to pieces. It didn't matter how angry she was, he was just better built. And those blades…

Bunnie started to yank herself back, Metic actually starting to move toward her. No thoughts could form quickly enough, only the instinctive fear that this killing machine would crush her life faster than she could blink as an auto-response to a direct attack.

Just as she crashed onto her back, yelping with fright, Metic froze in mid-lunge. Bunnie hesitated, gaping at him awkwardly as the robot shivered in place.

He finally spoke, his voice blank. "Defense response… Over… ride…"

The blades halted, the optics dimmed, and Metic slowly sat back down, keeping his optics down on the--now still--pile of incomplete weapons in front of him.

Easing slowly herself, Bunnie looked at the robot with new eyes. Startled out of her anger, she had just watched a killing machine stop itself from responding to a direct assault. And she had hit him _hard_. Her hand still felt loose from the power of the blow, possibly knocking a few parts out of place.

Gently propping herself up on her elbows, she looked at him askance, uneasy, but calmer. "…Why… didn't you attack me?"

Metic was silent for longer than usual before answering, "You hit me for the same reason you do not smile at me. Repeating the cause of this state will not change this state."

Her brow creased, but she started to pick herself up, and when she stepped backward off the platform, only then did Metic re-start his energy-field and mass-construction process. Bunnie quickly left the workshop, almost fleeing out into the moonlight. For some reason, she started to hold her mechanical arm, almost remembering the pain of losing the last one. _He did it, but… He's not lyin' either. …Oh stars, I just hope he doesn't realize he wants to kill us all again…_

Closing herself in her cottage, she slumped against the door. After a moment of vague thought, she pulled her left hand up in her right, and remembered the robot's callous question. "_Do you want your arm and legs back?"…_ She sighed quietly, her face falling into sorrow. "Yeah… I really do…"

(Later…)

The next morning, Sally, Sonic, Tails, and the whole crew were gathered together during a short break in preparation as Dulcy flew overhead. While everyone was a bit hesitant for their reason for gathering, Sally used the chance, with them all looking warily up at flying woman, to steal a kiss on Sonic's cheek. He was surprised, but smiled at her, and squeezed her hand.

"Aunt Sally?"

She looked up, Sonic relaxing his grip on her hand if she wanted to pull it away. She didn't, and smiled at the little boy standing hopefully in front of her. "What is it, Tails?"

"Can I sit with you while Dulcy shows us her landing?"

The squirrel grinned mischievously, and grabbed the little fox in a combination of a hug and tickles. Tails squealed and laughed, falling into her lap as she smiled happily herself, finally showing mercy with her tickles, and squeezing him affectionately. "You're such a good little freedom fighter, Tails. You know I think that, even when I'm being hard on you, right?"

He grinned, nodding with childish certainty. "Definitely, Aunt Sally!"

Sonic smirked as his beloved squirrel giggled again, and kissed Tails' nose, making him giggle as well, and hug her. She was so good with kids… Sonic abruptly blushed, a vision of her holding _their_ young son in her arms, smiling and laughing filling his mind.

Looking up from her young ball of fluff, Sally saw the startled and embarrassed look on Sonic's face, blinking. "Sonic, are you alright?"

He blustered. "O-oh, fine! Yeah! Just… ah… yeah!" His hand was scratching at his spines so rapidly the limb was mildly blurred.

Amusement mixed with confusion on her lovely face, and she finally just smiled happily, shaking her head at him. No more could be said before Dulcy gave a shout from high to the left, drawing their collective eyes up.

The dragon firmed with almost comical seriousness, and shot down toward the clearing in front of the crowd of friends. Muttering to herself, she swept down, and slammed her wings out, slowing herself drastically while still in the air… and dropped down onto her feet with a loud thump.

"She did it!" Tails proclaimed first, hopping into the air with his cheer. Dulcy was blushing already, a bit surprised she'd actually pulled it off.

Sally was stunned and pleased as well, but quickly got herself on her feet, clapping. "That was perfect, Dulcy!"

Everyone was cheering a moment later, and Dulcy laughed, smiling bashfully. "Thanks guys. I just wanted to show off all that practicing I've been doing."

Bunnie was still smiling as she came over to Sally, Sonic, and Tails. "Hey Sally-girl. I think Rotor wanted to talk to ya about a few things in the workshop. Want me to make sure Tails gets some lunch in that little tummy of his?" she grinned mischievously down at the little fox, who tried to hide before she grabbed him and tickled his stomach. He was giggling and gasping for air a moment later.

Both the princess and her blue hero were controlling laughs of their own as Sally replied, "That'd be great, Bunnie, thanks. See you guys later. If all goes well, we'll be hitting Doomsday within the next two days."

Everybody waved her off, Bunnie already moving Tails toward the dining hall, but Sonic paused his love with a grip of her hand, and made sure to smile warmly at her before she was out of sight. It meant a great deal to her, he could tell by the soft smile she returned, and then they finally parted.

(In the dark city…)

Far away from the beautiful Great Forest, under the perpetual smog of Robotropolis, Uncle Chuck was working busily in his hideout. Thanking the hallowed ones of Mobius, he had found a loophole in Robotnik's over-the-top security. There was a highly secured file in the main fortress' data-banks that contained rougher designs for the modifications to the Doomsday's interior. It had taken him all the hours since sending the message to Sally to find and crack it, but he finally had.

While not enough to make him confident, the information at least gave a much better idea of the facility's design on the inside. The modifications to the weapon-pods themselves, and any information on numbers of patrols, however, were absent. All Uncle Chuck could identify were completely different launch-systems for whatever had replaced the weapon-pods. Small, more numerous tubes, that would be spread over a wider area.

And then he found it. With the schematics rotating and zooming on his console-screen, Uncle Chuck's brow creased, and he slowly nodded. The most extensive changes to Doomsday were made in a sequence of massive chambers near the core of the facility itself. These chambers, which would obviously be heavily defended, contained the power-system for the entire structure. Taking it out with well-placed explosives would destroy Doomsday. They just had to get to it.

Adding in all the data he could, especially regarding subterranean entry-points, and started copying it all down to a data-disc for the resistance. When it popped out of the console, he plucked it up in his hand, and started for the exit himself. "And I always thought Robotnik would be the _last_ person to put all his eggs in one basket…"

(Later…)

Walking into the workshop, Sally eyed the veritable storm of energy and working metal that was Metic at the far side. She'd never seen so many completed bombs, pieces of armor, even energy rifles cobbled together from any power-systems they didn't need. Rotor, however, was working at the bench near the door, and waved her over. She focused on the walrus, and stepped up beside him. Though it would not be difficult to notice, the princess didn't catch Metic's optics following her the moment she came into view.

"So what's the deal, Rotor? Any problems?"

He looked up from tinkering with another chemical-launcher. "Not really. As you can see, Metic's really gotten us rolling on the weapons department."

Not wanting to look at the robot particularly, Sally nodded. "It looks like it. So what's going on?"

Rotor calmed, and said, "The reason I called you in is Bunnie."

The rebel-leader became concerned. "What is it?"

Exhaling heavily, the walrus leaned back in his chair. "I was hoping Uncle Chuck was just mistaken, that there was some loop-hole I might be able to find for Bunnie when we get de-roboticizer up and running, but the more I learn, the more I wonder why Uncle Chuck is even saying he'll bother. I mean… the roboticizer itself is light-years beyond anything I can do, only Uncle Chuck really understands how it works."

Sally looked down sorrowfully. "Yes, I understand. I don't think even Bunnie is holding out too much hope for getting her original arm and legs back. …Not anymore…" She couldn't help a faint glance in Metic's direction, but she never focused on him.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing at the end of the day," Rotor replied a similar tone to her own. "At least she's prepared to cope, and won't get disappointed again. I just… wish I could help her."

The princess put a hand on his shoulder, offering a kind smile. "We all do, Rotor. It's not your fault. You and Uncle Chuck got her back on her feet, that means the world to her."

It helped him, and he smiled, tipping his head to her. "You're right. Thanks, Princess."

She winked lightly, and then nodded to the door. "I'm going to go make sure we're set for the mission soon."

"You got it. I'll be workin' away on the side here, while Metic does his thing."

They shared a light wave, and Sally glanced over to Metic, who was looking down at his work at that point, and waved hesitantly. "Thank you, Metic… You're really helping us out." She smiled a bit.

He looked up at her, and only tipped his head. He knew she wanted to leave quickly.

And she did, her manner eased a bit at his nod.

Neither she nor Rotor realized Metic had heard their entire conversation quite clearly. They weren't particularly concerned about it, it just didn't cross their minds. Looking down, he calculated how much longer he would need, and then let his priorities mold around the connection between Sally's smile, Bunnie's, and Bunnie's damaged body. Sally did smile at him, but it was not the same smile. It was… sad.

"Sir?"

Rotor blinked, and looked back at the robot. "Yeah, Metic?"

"I will have completed all possible fully-functional components in two hours. May I see to another matter at that time?"

The walrus smirked. "You earned a break, Metic, just be careful."

"Understood, sir."

Looking down at the parts and devices in front of him, Metic's systems continued to analyze his priorities and how to acquire them. To make Bunnie smile… His memory supplied all of her expressions, tones, and body-language from their 'conversation' the previous night. Her intensity, the clear fear overwhelmed by blinding rage, and something else… not so obvious, but as real as… the look in Sally's eyes when she smiled at him. Sadness.

It was possible that Bunnie's rage and sadness would be repaired by attaining her original limbs. To attain her original limbs, she needed the first set of robotic limbs to be de-roboticized. Sally would smile if Bunnie smiled.. and so the true priority was… _Bunnie's smile… She must have her original body._ He continued to work in that moment, but a plan was forming in his mechanical mind.

(Later…)

At a calm knock on her door, Bunnie yawned at her desk, stretching with a content little moan. Even her mechanical arm clicked and whirred as if it were relieving pent up tension. She stood up from her chair, and walked to the door, pulling it open without bothering to check who it was. She wished she had, her entire frame jerking taut.

Metic stood in front of her, his optics calmly focused into her eyes. "I can repair your limbs."

There was a firmness in his manner, a determination that got under her remaining skin. "…I figure you could, yeah… They're fine right now."

His head shook. "No, the original set. I can replace your limbs." His hands reached out toward her arm, and he started to step toward her.

It was an instinct, she just jerked her hands into his chest, knocking the robot back onto the grass as she let out a shout of focused panic. Metic never resisted her push, which was why he actually rolled back and stopped nearly two meters from her door.

But her shout had been loud enough, and as Bunnie stepped through the threshold of her own door, Metic just getting up to his knees, half of Knothole was running out onto the grass.

"Is it attacking?" someone shouted urgently.

Bunnie and Metic both glanced in the direction of the voice in alarm, Metic staying on his knees to avoid alarming anyone further. It wasn't until Sonic blazed up into view, dropping Sally to her feet, that everyone calmed enough to watch rather than reach for a weapon.

For her part, Bunnie was starting to blush. The robot had startled her, and she didn't regret making him leave her be, but this situation was not what she'd had in mind. Sally, however, stepped right up to the robot. "Did you attack her?"

Metic kept his head ducked down and away from Sally. "No, Princess."

The squirrel looked to Bunnie instantly. "Did he, Bunnie?"

The rabbit winced fractionally. "N-no… Sally-girl. He just startled me… I pushed him when he tried to step too close for my likin'."

A dark look settled over Sally's face, and she focused it on the robot. "You approached her without permission?"

It was a bit disturbing to see Metic actually fall onto his side and crawl a bit away from Sally as he answered, "I was mistaken." Indeed, his calculations had completely failed. He had caused the opposite response to that intended. Now the situation was worse.

Sally exhaled, looking down. "Please, Metic. Only approach a person if they invite you."

He froze his motion. "Understood, Princess, but I am currently unable to move without approaching someone." He was surrounded by freedom fighters in a broad circle.

A bit of frustration made the princess growl quietly. "I mean to interact with them. Go where you need to go, Metic. Just make sure… people aren't in your way when you move."

He got onto his feet and quickly retreated from the area, apparently returning to Rotor's workshop. Seeing that the situation was not so serious, the crowd began to scatter anyway, but Sally and Sonic walked over to Bunnie, who leaned wearily against her door frame.

"I'm very sorry, Bunnie. I didn't know he would just approach you like that. I'll tell him not to more specifically."

The rabbit shook her head. "It's alright, Sally-girl. I over-reacted. He let me hit him pretty hard, poor tin-can practically flew off. I… ah… I'm sorry 'bout makin' a scene. I wasn't thinkin'."

Sonic chuckled. "It's good to keep that thing on his toes, Bunnie. I wouldn't worry about it."

The princess nodded her agreement, smiling. "Definitely. Metic is still dangerous, he just seems to obey me. If he makes you uncomfortable, you're justified in taking care of it as you see fit, Bunnie. I can't be watching him all the time with this mission-plan as it is."

Bunnie just shook her head. "It's not a problem, Sally-girl, Sugar-hog, but thank you kindly. If y'all don't mind, I'm gonna take a little rest here."

Her friends were quite happy to hear the idea for her, and hurried off to continue preparing. The cyborg retreated into her cottage, and fell back on her bed. _What'd he mean? Replace my arm and legs? Doesn't he know that won't make a bit of difference?_ She shook her head, and started to doze off into sleep.

(Later…)

Waking up with a soft start, a nightmare about losing her limbs to Metic back in the canyon, Bunnie groaned, and rubbed her eyes with her soft hand. A few nasty bruises had taught her not to use her left hand for such things. Sitting up in the bed, she exhaled, and rested her elbows on her knees. Glancing outside, she realized it was just a little later the same afternoon. Or she'd slept _much_ longer than she'd expected to.

And then her thoughts turned to the surprise visit by the robot, and his odd words. He was really helping the resistance, and it was clear to Bunnie that his desire to see Sally smile was sincere, if… disturbing. And he'd appeared so… pathetic after she'd knocked him out on the grass, even cowering away from Sally. Probably to avoid seeing the squirrel's dark expression.

Bunnie groaned in vexation. "Now I feel bad for the stupid rust-bucket… Just great. I guess I better go apologize. I don't want that hauntin' my conscience."

Picking herself up, she left her cottage. Walking past the main edifice of Knothole, she saw Rotor and the others reviewing how to use the chemical-bomb packs, which filled volleys of balloons with the chemicals, which could be easily thrown, and then released the gas on contact with the air.

Not finding Metic near the briefing, which seemed a little odd to her, Bunnie realized he was probably finishing up some work at the workshop. She trotted in that direction, feeling less and less desire to actually apologize the closer the reality became, and nodded to herself when she spotted the flickers of white light from inside the workshop through the door.

Reaching the doorway, she held mechanical hand to the edge, and swung around with casual lightness from habit. "Hey, rust-bucket, we need ta--?"

She froze, stunned completely silent, and not entirely sure what she was looking at.

Up on the platform where he had constructed so many of the weapons and devices, Metic indeed sat with his storm of metal-working energy around him, but his _body_ was coming apart. Small pieces were breaking off, ripping out of his inner workings, and rushing together down beneath his hands, his optics firmly focused down on his work. His body had gaping holes in the head, flanks, and parts of the limbs were missing already.

Finally, Bunnie ran into the workshop. "Metic! What are you doin'?"

His optics focused up at her calmly, as if he was doing nothing out of the ordinary for his own purposes. "…I will see you smile."

Confusion etched through her horrified expression… and then she looked down at what he was doing. "…My stars…"

Almost completely re-constructed already, her original three limbs were floating in the glowing air beneath Metic's hands. Back in the ruined canyon-cave, when his shattered body had fused back together, part of the new pieces had come from a very unlikely source. Bunnie's original metallic limbs. And he'd taken all of them. The three limbs were almost completely restored up to the point he'd cut from her body himself, even the little pieces that had shattered off were floating down into place and fusing back into the armor.

Thrown for a loop by this point, Bunnie was dumbfounded, her mouth agape… but then she looked back up at his body. It was still coming apart, and more pieces were snapping out of his innards, flitting down to join the robotic limbs under construction. "M-Metic… wait… Stop, Metic! You're pullin' yourself apart!" Her hands were out, but she didn't know what effect the energy around him would have on her.

Metic just looked at her, his body starting to shake faintly, losing structural stability as he remained active. "The components of your limbs were incorporated deeply into my super-structure. A temporary state of disrepair is needed. Should I shut-down, enough of the limbs should exist for proper de-roboticization."

Bunnie blinked, faltering back a step. "Y-you mean… you're… You're doin' all this just so I can be de-roboticized?"

"I will see you smile." And his optics focused back down on the limbs.

The machine was tearing himself apart, literally, and he was too valuable to the resistance. And how could these be the right limbs? She'd heard Uncle Chuck and Rotor's warning, Sally had told her… _Sally_! Bunnie twisted, and dashed out of the workshop. She just ran, sprinting across the grass, and finally skidding into the midst of her friends at the meeting, panting and sweating.

Sally blinked up at her, Sonic, Dulcy, Rotor, Antoine, and even Tails startled by her abrupt arrival.

Bunnie was holding a hand to her side. "It's Metic! He's gone crazy and he's tearin' himself apart to make me new limbs! Sally-girl, you've gotta stop 'im, he'll only listen to you!"

Shock pulsed through the crowd, but Sally was still stunned. "W-what? He's attacking or…?"

"No! He's rippin' himself to pieces to build me new limbs! You have to stop him before he shuts down completely!"

Sonic was picking Sally up the second she met his eyes with her own. He blurred off, everyone resisting the wind of his departure, and Bunnie ran after them. Antoine, Rotor, and Tails joined her, all of them rushing back to the workshop.

The blue hero skidded to a stop outside the workshop, and Sally ran in ahead of him. There was no more bright light, but when she looked across the calm, quiet chamber, she didn't panic, she simply stared in mild, morbid fascination.

There stood Metic, his body splotchy, battered, and half-dismantled from the inside out. His optics, however, were glowing as brightly as usual, and he still had all four limbs, though they were wheedled down to skeletal remains. Then Sally's eyes drifted down to his feet. Lying in front of him, were three perfect replicas of Bunnie's shattered limbs, right down to the pieces at the break-point that had flown off, and the direction of the bent metal at the edges.

Sonic stepped in behind her, blinking at the sight himself. Sally was troubled by the limbs, but couldn't accept the hope they promised. It was too unlikely. She focused back on the robot himself, and spoke, "Metic, are you going to shut down?"

Before the robot could respond, Sonic gripped Sally's shoulder.

"Sal! Look! In his chest!"

She focused, and then her eyes widened. Embedded deep inside the robot's torso, just visible thanks to the huge hole that was the left side of his chest, was the power ring. It was still glowing with immense power, and had wiring and metal fused into it. "A power-ring…" Sally whispered in shock, and then focused on Metic's optics. "You got all of this power from the power-ring?"

"Correct, Princess." He then gestured down at the limbs on the floor, just as Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, and Tails reached the workshop themselves, moving in behind Sonic and Sally, Bunnie watching warily. They all spotted the power-ring as well.

Metic glanced to Bunnie, and then said, "These are the limbs I tore from Bunnie's body. If you saved any removed parts from the pieces still connected to her, a full repair should be possible, and future de-roboticization made likely again."

Rotor rushed forward, crashing to his knees near the three re-made limbs, quickly checking them over.

Bunnie winced at the robot. "Metic, ya can't just rebuild 'em… They have to be the original--?" she blinked as Rotor cut her off.

"They are!" the walrus looked back to his friends in shock and elation. "These are Bunnie's old robotic limbs! All the parts match up! I can't tell any differences!" He lifted the arm up. "It even matches the cut-line on your shoulder-joint, Bunnie!"

The rabbit gaped. "Rotor… sugar, are you sayin' I actually get my old limbs back?"

Finally, even Sally could start to feel a glimmer of hope. "Truly, Rotor?"

The walrus nodded instantly. "We just need to repair the cuts, re-attach them!"

Metic spoke again. "I assumed my presence would be unwelcome. I can re-attach the limbs as well. While you decide, however, may I access the junk-piles outside?"

He was quickly given permission, everyone locked on the limbs he'd re-forged. As he walked out, slowly, however, two sets of eyes followed him. Bunnie, her manner softened by what he might have done for her, if proved accurate, and Tails, who started to follow the robot curiously out the door.

Antoine hopped up and down. "Surely we are repairing mademoiselle's limbs, yes? There eez no time to be wasting!"

Everyone looked to the woman herself. Bunnie was too stunned to speak first. "I-I… I mean we can't be sure they're the right ones, right?"

Rotor cringed. "That's true. I would have to do extensive tests to figure out more, and even then there would be doubt."

Sally smiled gently. "It's up to you, Bunnie."

Sonic gave his thumbs up.

The rabbit looked back to the limbs around Rotor, her eyes tightening. "Sugar… can they work like the old ones did, same or not?"

Not having any doubt, the walrus nodded. "That's certain. These are exactly matched to the design of your original limbs. Full functional capacity."

Bunnie raised her left arm calmly. "I sure prefer these new one's for just livin'… but I want to fight with y'all. Mind helpin' me get 'em on?" she asked with an old battle-smirk.

Rotor grinned. "I'm ready and waiting."

"And I'll help," Sally offered immediately.

Bunnie gave her a happy smile, and then Sally shooed Sonic and Antoine out of the workshop for Bunnie's sake. Rotor and Sally helped Bunnie onto a table, and they got to work, making sure the cyborg wouldn't feel any pain while they went about connecting the original limbs to the damaged stumps her new limbs hid.

(Junkheap…)

Outside, around the back of the workshop, Tails eased around the last bit of the round building's outer wall. Metic walked up to the pile of scraps that had been unnecessary for the rest of the devices, and hold his hands toward them. The white light returned, and Tails blinked as the bits and pieces of metal started to fly back into Metic's body, rapidly filling up the gaps and holes in his frame, even taking on the color of his original parts.

In just a few minutes, the energy faded, and a fully restored robot turned around. His optics quickly caught Tails. "I was given permission to use the extra supplies."

With a start, Tails meekly stepped out into full view. "I was just curious… So you're all fixed now?"

The robot looked down at his hands, as if appraising them. "The parts and metals were of lesser quality, but the durability loss is minimal when reinforced by the rest of my original super-structure."

Again, the little fox blinked in confusion.

Metic's faceplate vented mildly. "I'm more or less all fixed now, yes."

Tails grinned. "Great! I know you'll really help out on this big mission coming up!"

"If it will make her smile." Metic started to walk back around the workshop, and Tails followed him like a little shadow.

"Aunt Sally, you mean?"

"Correct."

Tails was still smiling. "It was really nice of you to make Bunnie's original metal limbs again."

"It was to make her smile. I am uncertain of the results."

Giggling, the little fox asked, "Aunt Sally or Aunt Bunnie this time?"

Metic paused, his optics twitching faintly. "Both." And he kept walking.

As they came to the front of the workshop again, a familiar voice called out. "Well look at that. You fix up fast all the time, don't you?" Sonic finished with a light smirk, setting his hands on his hips beside Antoine, who still had a troubled (but more relaxed) look on his face as he looked at the robot.

Metic raised an optic ridge. "My repair process is efficient compared to others, yes."

It was clear to Tails that Sonic was much more relaxed with the robot this time. Tails knew the blue hedgehog was very impressed with Metic for re-making Bunnie's limbs. Snarky as ever, Sonic replied, "I'd tell ya to stop talking like a robot, but then you might start copying me again, and we can't have that."

"Oh dear. Two Soneeks? Most worrisome, yes," Antoine muttered, quite sincere in his dismal manner.

Sonic glared at him, but Metic replied in the faint, dry humor he'd showed before. "No… we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Looking back to the robot, still smirking, Sonic finally crossed his arms over his chest, and nodded at him. "So it was the power-ring, wasn't it? That's what let you build yourself back together?"

Metic nodded. "My original design and the energy of the power-ring were fused by your efforts to destroy me. Now each keeps the other functional, with a danger of over-exertion leading to permanent shut-down."

"So you're charging the ring, but you could still drain it dry and kick the bucket yourself?"

"Correct."

Sonic grinned. "See, I knew ya weren't perfect."

"Who claimed I was?"

The organic hedgehog 'hid' how well the robot caught him by sourly frowning off to the side.

Tails giggled. "You two fight like kids!"

Metic gave the fox a dark, downward glance. "Unlikely…"

"No way!" Sonic added almost at the same time.

Antoine and Tails started to laugh, making the two hedgehogs glare at each other again.

Then the door of the workshop clicked, starting to open. Metic twisted on his heel, but then backed up, pulling the farthest away from the opening door as Sonic, Tails, and Antoine stepped a bit closer, waiting with wary excitement. Sally came out first, then Rotor, and both smiled knowingly at their friends, moving to either side.

Bunnie stepped out into the sunlight, showing her old, confident battle-smirk as her apparently original metal feet pressed down into the grass, and her bulky left arm shifted smoothly at her side. "Now who'da thought I'd be glad to get these clunky old things back, huh?"

A happy cheer rose up from her friends, and she grinned, hugging Sonic, Antoine, Tails, messing Tails hair happily. Of course, she'd already thanked Rotor and Sally inside, and when she could let poor Tails away from her tickles, she looked up, past them all, to see Metic standing back in the shade of the nearest tree, his optics looking down.

"Metic?"

Only then did he meet her eyes. "Yes, ma'am?"

A calm smile appeared on her lips, and she raised her left fist. "These 'll let me fight with my friends, help 'em. Thank you."

It was a subtle smile, but the sadness in her eyes was greatly lessened. Metic slowly bowed his head to her. However, it was still hard for her, to look at him, and push away all the horrible memories. And she couldn't be sure these limbs promised her original ones eventually. But she could fight. So the rabbit tipped her head to him one last time, and turned back to Sally and the others. "So help me catch up. I need to know what I'm doin' with y'all so I don't screw it up!"

They shared a laugh, and hurried back to the main area of Knothole. Metic watched them go, and started to walk back into the workshop. Progress had been made. It was enough. He moved across the main room, and sat back down on his little chair on the platform, simply waiting for another task while he processed all the data of their responses.

(Later…)

Metic looked up when the door to the workshop opened, and his optics widened a bit when they registered Bunnie looking around the edge of the doorway. He quickly looked down, but as soon as she spotted him, the cyborg trotted up to his platform, and stepped onto it with him. "Can we talk for a minute, Metic?"

His optics focused back on her face. "As you wish."

Looking at him in that moment, she realized the robot was actually afraid of her, worried he had done something wrong. With a casual smile, she raised her left hand. "I just have to ask you if these are _really_ my old limbs. Are these the ones that roboticizer gave me?" She let the limb down, shrugging. "I just need to know, Metic. I need to be prepared."

He looked at her directly, and said, "I am absolutely certain. When a de-roboticizer can be constructed, any failure to restore your organic limbs will not be because of the current robotic ones you have."

In a weird way, it was nice to have a robot's absolute certainty on the issue. Bunnie tipped her head down, smiling gently, hope igniting softly in her heart again. Metic saw it, and his head tilted, processing her mannerisms, realizing she was really smiling. Then Bunnie stood straight, and waved for him. "Stand up for a second, would ya?"

His optic-ridges rose, but he stood immediately, waiting in front of her. Nothing had prepared him for her response, his optics giving a soft flash of shock as she just leaned close and embraced him, holding him tightly for a moment. The poor robot was too stunned to really respond, just standing there, optics bright until she pulled back, smiling softly at him, looking into his glowing red dots.

"I just wanted you to know I appreciate it… I know Sally-girl does, too. She'll probably smile at ya next time you see her." She actually sniffed a bit, pressing her lips between her teeth, and nodded to herself, starting to move away.

There was so much data it actually took the computerized mind a few real seconds to process it all. A smile, a real smile, and she had _embraced_ him. All of the data that had inspired his priorities cycled through his mind, showing the smiles Sally shared with Sonic, how he'd placed himself in Sonic's position. It was to acquire that contact, that connection between each other. Sally and Sonic had it, he lacked it. And Bunnie, the one he had hurt the most directly, attacked viciously, had come close enough to embrace him, and actually smile at _him_.

She was just at the middle of the workshop when his voice managed, "Bunnie."

Pausing, she turned, blinking at him.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

Normally she would have blown it off, said 'no problem', and nervously laughed, but the combination of her very real _hurt_, and the strange look in his mechanical face stopped her from reacting instantly. His optics were… soft? With some kind of pain. And he wasn't moving closer, or sitting down. He was exactly where she'd left him, as if still stunned from her embrace. He actually meant it.

Finally, she eased physically, and smiled her lovely, soft smile at him, her green eyes twinkling with a little touch of humor. "Don't worry 'bout it, sugar. You made your amends with me." She raised her left hand to him, winked, and walked out of view.

Metic slowly sat down, his hard face softer than before, pensive, as if truly in emotional shock. His programming was changing and whirling in his mind, but he felt calm, as if he already knew where it would end up. And, as soon as he thought of it, his programming snapped into place, new priorities forming. "I will never hurt you again, Bunnie… Not if I have any power left to prevent it…" His optics drifted down, the ridges rising. "…She smiled…"

(Author's Note)

And here we are. Again, thank you for all of the positive reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. By this point, what I intend for Metic is rather obvious, all that's left is Robotnik himself. The next chapter contains the final confrontation, whatever the outcome.

I hope this chapter was enjoyable. Please do let me know of any things that bothered you, and if anything got your attention in a particularly _good_ way, please point it out as well.

Thank you,

Cy


	8. Doomsday

Chapter 8: "Doomsday"

"Hey, Sal! Look who I found!" Sonic shouted, blasting to a halt near the Knothole cove, blades of grass flying up into the air from his sharp shoes.

The squirrel woman was gathered with a large group of rebels, including Dulcy, Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor, and looked over to Sonic as her face lit up. "Sir Charles!"

Hopping down from Sonic's back, the roboticized hedgehog grinned as the young woman ran over and hugged him. He patted her back. "Good to see you again, Princess. I managed to crack some important data on the new Doomsday facility," he added seriously as they pulled apart, "but I'm afraid we're going in blind regarding patrols or other specific defenses."

Sally just shook her head, smiling. "Everything will help. We have a good strategy set up now, and did Sonic tell you about our new friend?"

"The robot, you mean? Yes, my speedy nephew mentioned him a few times," Uncle Chuck muttered wryly, giving Sonic a sidelong stare.

Sonic grinned meekly, scratching his spines. "Just a few mentions…"

"The whole way here."

Sally was controlling her humor by pressing her lips between her teeth. "I see. Well come on, let's start analyzing what you've found."

So they all hurried back into the meeting area, Sir Charles receiving a very warm welcome from everyone before he linked the data-disc to Nicole, and let her broadcast the maps he'd found into a holo-sphere for everyone to see.

As they analyzed it, Metic stepped up on the edge of the shaded area where they were meeting. He listened as they described a large, distracting assault from inside the facility, along with a focused, surgical strike by a smaller team at the heart of the place, to rig it to tear itself apart with explosives. If the objective was to destroy the facility, he could find no better alternatives, lacking up-to-date security protocols to help them get through any more safely.

Rotor paused the discussion with a raised hand. "So who's going in with the strike-team? It's the most dangerous part of the mission, I need to make sure all the gear fits right."

Sally looked around the group. "Dulcy has some firepower by her nature, so we'll need her. Bunnie and I are definitely on it. Sonic…?"

She wasn't at all surprised when he gave a firm thumbs-up to her curious glance.

Antoine raised his hand. "I will be going, yes. I can place ze explosives, I have been studying carefully how to be doing this…"

Their leader nodded to him, sharing a light smile.

And, finally, they saw a glistening hint of metal rise up behind the gathered rebels. Sally stood up, her eyebrows rising. "…Metic?"

Some resistance fighters parted, letting him be more clearly visible. "May I join this central assault team? My abilities seem best applied there… and I have caused much damage to the resistance. It might be more fair for me to take some of the greater risk."

Bunnie was privately impressed with his offer, previously assuming he would help keep Robotnik's forces distracted. And then she realized he was giving her a subtle look as he spoke, quickly focusing back on Sally when she seemed to notice it.

For Sally, it was a relief. "Honestly, Metic, I was going to ask you to do that if you didn't offer. Sonic is our hero, but your kind of help is _most_ welcome."

Though the blue hedgehog obviously didn't like being compared to the robot, Metic only tipped his head. "Thank you for letting me help, Princess."

Uncle Chuck stroked his metal chin. "Then it looks like the plan is set, Princess. You all know time is against us. Are we going to strike tonight?"

With a grave look across the gathered army of resistance fighters, Sally nodded to Sir Charles. "We strike tonight, and we're going to take our world back from Robotnik and his roboticizer."

A confident battle-cry filled Knothole as Metic watched, his mechanical eyes tightening as his programming continued to shift subtly with new experience. His optics settled on Bunnie was she raised her metal fist with the cheer, young Tails hopping up and down near the edge of the inner-group that had decided the plan. _If anything is torn apart… let it be Doomsday…_ And his optics flashed.

(Down in the shadows…)

Snively stood anxiously on a grated catwalk suspended in the midst of a chamber too dark to really make out. In front of him waited a large pod with numerous controls, consoles, and an expansive command-throne in the center, occupied by his nefarious uncle. The already half-mechanical tyrant sneered as he leaned back in his new seat, lacing his fingers together. "Marvelous, isn't it, Snively?"

"Spectactulah, sah… but is it wise to place yourself in the resistance's priority target, especially when they know it is not fully operational?"

Robotnik's metal hand shot out with surprising speed, yanking the startled subordinate over the consoles on the tyrant's forward left, letting his glowing optics glare into the smaller man's widened eyes. "Do you see where you're standing, Snively…?" Robotnik asked in a dangerously low, softened voice.

Considering his feet were dangling over the catwalk, Snively wasn't sure what to say. The grated metal where he _had_ been standing wrapped all the way around Robotnik's new pod, and pathways led off into the shadows beyond some untold distance. "…Inside your masterpiece, Doctor Robotnik?" the smaller man finally decided to say, hesitant sycophancy in his voice.

The tyrant's sneer returned, and he let his nephew fall flat on his back outside the pod. "Exactly. If any of those resistance fools even make it to me, I have implanted all of the advancements in my recent leaps of genius into this personal combat exo-suit. If that blue fool somehow manages to destroy Doomsday around me, he will wish he'd died in the attempt for all the suffering that will rain upon him."

Gloating for a moment more, Robotnik focused back on the smaller man with a dismal glare. "Now get to the central command console. I don't want you in the way this time, Snively."

Picking himself up at last, the subordinate marched away on one of the outer catwalks with a dark look on his face. "Oh I won't be in your way much longer, sah… Not if you keep this up…"

Behind him, the pod closed over Robotnik with a silver and orange casing around a sharp visor of clear diamond-glass. The sealed pod then started to sink below the ringed walkway, and down into the shadows below, Robotnik's haunting laugh the only thing revealing his continued presence in the darkness.

(The beginning…)

Clouds of putrid smog broke around Dulcy's confident dive, Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine, and Metic holding onto her long back with determined focus. The Doomsday facility loomed up over a plain of catwalks, low-set buildings, and constant patrols of swat-bots. Sally pulled Nicole from her boot, and opened up a map in the air just over the dragon's right shoulder. "Alright. Remember, Dulcy. Once the other teams start the distraction, we need to dive between that junction of catwalks on the South side of the facility."

"I've got it, Sally, don't worry. I've been practicing."

The princess smiled. She, Antoine, and Bunnie had large backpacks, utility belts, and armored gauntlets on their arms (only one in Bunnie's case, her robotic limb too thick for one) over their normal attire. The backpacks held the explosives they would be using, and also held the chemical-bomb balloon-makers in the lower part of the metal-armored pack. The gauntlets helped with launching and holding bombs or balloons, and the belts stored further explosives and mission equipment.

Staying high in the air, Dulcy started to circle the facility as smoke started to rise from the outer edges, below ground level of the facility's surrounding plain. Klaxons blared, and the armies of swat-bots started to swarm outward.

After following the activity from the sky for a few moments, Sally looked to her computer again. "Nicole, give me position data for our teams."

"Processing, Sally."

Red dots appeared on the top-down map-view of the facility-area, all of them slowly but steadily moving into the center, directly under Doomsday itself. Sally touched her right ear with her left hand, holding Nicole more comfortably in her right. "This is Resistance Leader, report."

Voices came filtering back around blasts, plumes, and laser-fire on the other ends.

"New chemical-bombs work like a charm."

"Making progress to drop-point, Princess. Heavy concentration of forces are slowing us down."

"We're also making progress, ma'am, but I'm worried."

"We're fightin' for it, but he's right. This is going a little too smoothly."

Sally nodded to herself, Antoine paling a little more as he listened along with the others. "The traps will be inside, most likely. Just get to the tower-base itself, hold as long as you can, and evac at our signal if you can hold that long."

A volley of confirmation waved into her transceiver, and let her hand down from her ear. "Soon now, Dulcy."

The dragon just nodded this time.

There was twenty further minutes of steady progress. Down in the industrial complex surrounding Doomsday, rugged Knothole fighters threw chemical-balloons around corners, set off charges, and scattered around enemy attacks. It was urban warfare at its most chaotic, made worse by dark halls, plentiful cover, distracting shapes in the pipes and wires, and the distorted cries of _melting_ robots as the balloons hit their targets, or smoke and flame from the bombs going off.

The wolf tribe's noble leader dove into a role, planting her back darkly furred back against a wall that was part of the tower-base. "Get back here, you welps! We have to hold this position!"

Her fellow wolves started to pull back to her position, tossing balloons and grenades into ever-dwindling numbers of swat-bots. She touched her ear with some relief as they did. "Princess, this is Lupe. We've reached the tower-base."

Up on Dulcy's back, Sally smiled as she looked at Nicole's map. The red-dots were almost all gathered around the Doomsday tower's base. "Great work, Lupe. Everyone, hold as much as you can, but retreat as needed." After hearing confirmations, she looked up at Dulcy's head. "It's now or never, Dulcy."

"Then hold _on_!"

Even Sonic gave an alarmed shout as the dragon suddenly snapped into a diving roll, ripping down through the air while coming around the tower. Bunnie's ears were flailing over her head. "Dulcy, darlin', I sure hope you practiced _this_!"

Smiling confidently, the dragon just kept diving and spinning. With a snapping rush of wind around hard metal, Dulcy ripped past two catwalks, still spinning, and slammed her wings wide, completing an inverted loop that let her fly straight along the ground _toward_ the tower after diving toward the surrounding facilities _away_ from it. Antoine and Sally both gave a sickened moan, holding on for dear life, and even Metic muttered, "That was unsettling."

Dulcy slowed herself down further, and eased to a stop, dropping lightly onto her feet just a few meters away from a guard-wall of the tower-base. "Hah! I told ya I could do it!"

Sincerely impressed, and equally relieved, everyone hopped down from the dragon's back. "Well done, Dulcy," Sally added. "Sorry we got nervous."

The tallest freedom fighter winked. "Thanks for holding on so tight."

It let a mild laugh cross the small team, Metic quirking an optic ridge at their humor in such a situation. He followed without comment as Sally marched up to the wall, pulling a filled balloon from her lower back-pack. "Metic, Bunnie, make sure this stuff doesn't get on your metal parts."

"I think we can manage it, Sally-girl," the cyborg replied with a mild smirk, giving the robotic a side-long glance.

Metic flicked his optic-ridge again, but there was a mild humor in it as well.

With a faint grunt, Sally let the balloon fly, and Sonic grinned as it smashed against the wall. With a rushing wave of greenish mist, the wall simply opened a gaping hole for all of them, easily large enough for Dulcy.

Antoine steadied himself. "And we are going in, yes?"

Sally smiled a bit at her handiwork. "Yep. Come on."

Sonic quickly came up beside Sally, Dulcy and Metic on the rear-guard, and the team moved inside. Dimly lit, black metal halls, resembling alien landscapes save for the industrial pipes and exposed wiring awaited them. Antoine was keeping his jaw clamped against rattling teeth as he glanced around anxiously. Sally had Nicole out, and led them with a steady, brisk pace up into a few higher levels, around turns, across junctions, and all the while looking out for patrols of swat-bots.

After a few minutes of ominous traveling, Sally paused, everyone looking ahead to whatever had stopped her. Several meters in front of them, the hall simply ended, opening out into an unknown, thick darkness. Bunnie raised a light source from her belt, and shone it through the large opening. The flooring continued on for some undetermined distance, and no walls or a ceiling were visible. "…Awful big room…" the cyborg muttered anxiously.

Sally nodded. "We've reached the first of the two core chambers. I just wish we'd seen some more security before this. It has to be a trap or a decoy at this rate."

Metic spoke calmly. "There is a great deal of power being routed through this part of the tower. My scanners detect it some distance ahead of us, possibly beyond this immediate chamber."

"Trap then," Sally, Sonic, and Bunnie said at the same time. Antoine blanched, but Dulcy giggled, and Metic just stepped up with them at the front.

"Allow me to walk ahead of you," the robot said with his usual calm. "I can withstand more, and my loss would not be as damaging to morale as any of you."

Hearing him so coldly analyze his importance to the resistance made everyone glance at him self-consciously, but Sally said, "I would appreciate it if you led, Metic, but not because we can afford to lose you more easily. You can handle better than most of us."

"As you say it, Princess," he answered with a faint nod, and then walked forward.

Sonic gave Sally a supportive smile, and they fell in with the rest of the team behind the robot, walking into the shadows of the chamber beyond. As soon as their feet touched the flooring beyond the hall, lights burst to life around the circular edges of the ceiling high above, revealing a roughly spherical, cavernous chamber with surprisingly intricate walls holding pipes, openings, vents, layers of buttresses and catwalks, and mechanical arms along the ceiling itself.

Dulcy yelped, snapping her tail out of the way as the hallway behind them vanished with a bang and rush of an incredibly thick blast-door. Metic hadn't moved, but everyone looked from the back door, across the room, to the opposite end instantly as another bang sealed the only obvious exit with a copy of the blast-door behind them.

Antoine moaned. "Zis eez becoming a bit old, I am thinking…"

"Right there with ya, Ant," Sonic muttered darkly, pulling Sally and Bunnie a little behind him as he braced his legs.

Metic was still in front, standing without response as a cold, familiar chuckle filled the chamber in an echoing cacophony. A floating holo-screen appeared at the far side, angled against the top of the chamber, looking down on them as Robotnik's darkly pleased face flickered into view. "Welcome, my little friends. I just couldn't resist giving you a front-row seat for the introduction of my latest design for the Doomsday destruction pods."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "So step on it, Butt-nik! We haven't got all day down here!"

Robotnik leaned his dark eyes into the screen. "For once, hedgehog, we agree completely." His darker voice vanished with the screen.

"Stay back!" Metic warned, his right claw snapping at his comrades.

Everyone tensed, and then looked up as three shapes blew out of the sides of the chamber, high in the air. Two from the left, one from the right, trailing clouds of noxious, blue-black gas, metal spheres of layered, intricate design spun and revved between each other, slamming into the far walls at sonic speed. Ripping down in front of the resistance fighters, they halted with unnatural ease, the gases fading to the sides, and snapped open.

Three tall, thin, blue-black Metal Sonics flashed their optics at the group, vents all over their bodies still leaking fumes of the organic-melting chemicals.

"Oh stars…" Bunnie whispered weakly, easing back a step.

Sally's eyes were widened horribly, and Sonic just twitched at the sight. Dulcy braced, grimly determined, and Antoine actually pulled two balloons from his pack, one in each hand, his expression furious.

Metic, however, was just looking up at the central, forward robot. "Sonic?"

"Yeah, Metic?" the blue hedgehog asked, his voice still tense.

"You can blast through that far door within a few seconds. Take the others and continue the mission. I will deal with these."

Everyone focused on the robot again. Sonic started to shift his legs for a run, but asked, "Are you sure?"

"We can help ya, sugar-bot. You're not alone out here," Bunnie offered warily.

Metic only then looked back, focusing on Bunnie. "It is possible I exist for this. Go." His faceplate vented, and his optics flashed as he looked back to the three Metal Sonics.

Sonic grabbed Sally's hand. "Grab hold! Dulcy, follow!"

The princess, Bunnie, and Antoine locked arms instantly, Dulcy blasting into the air. Sonic shot off, blurring around the three robots, only to skid to a halt near the far door, letting his friends down, and leap up into a buzz-saw, digging violently into the blast door.

The robots started to turn around, their optics flashing and gas venting from their bodies, but Metic braced his legs back, one claw to the ground. His optics flared, and his three razor-fins roared to life. "Targets acquired." All of his old combat programming locked into place, wholly supported by his new priorities this time.

Without even glancing back again, the three robots focused back on him. The leader's optics quirked with dark humor. "You ready ta juice, chrome-dome?"

Metic narrowed his optics ominously. "I don't juice. I grind."

Bunnie looked back to see white energy engulf Metic as a sphere, and the four robots exploded into a violent cloud of skittering, jerking metal, filling the other half of the cavernous chamber with sparks, flashes, and sheering walls. She couldn't help a softer smirk, almost like the ones she gave Sonic. "No offense, Sugar-hog, but sometimes he really does remind me of you."

Sonic finally leapt off, the blast-door crashing down into the next chamber, which was also darkened from view that moment. "Ah, he's alright after all. Now let's _juice_!"

They locked arms, Dulcy bracing, and ripped into the next chamber.

Metic slammed into the left-side wall, looking up into the center as the three robots rolled after him. "You will not harm the princess, nor Bunnie, nor any resistance fighter."

"Watch us!"

He was engulfed again, and blasted into the central rolled-up robot. Robotnik's machine was sent flying off, slamming into the far wall, but Metic, rolled up and engulfed in power, stopped in mid-flight, twisted, and shot down into another of the three, batting it down into the floor before landing himself.

All three recovered, and streaked after him. Metic ran up the right wall, reaching the center of the ceiling, and rocketed down. Two had followed him, one remained on the ground, but the two on the ceiling missed as the one on the ground dove aside. The center of the chamber exploded in sheered, warped metal.

Metic didn't even pause, suddenly appearing with one of the robots, slamming it into the left wall with his feet while grabbing hold of the head. As the robot still sunk into the metal of the wall, he hopped off, planted his feet wide beside the attacking robot, and wrenched it out with his claw, letting him crash straight into the other Metal Sonic that was diving into Metic as a razor-ball. The clang shook the chamber, those two dropping, but the third speed-rammed Metic out from beneath them, slamming him into the back of the chamber, above the torn-open door.

Rolling around with the Metal Sonic, Metic was grappled from behind. With a sharp jerk, Metic slammed his own back into the wall, pinning the other robot there, and then his optics flashed as his razor-fins roared violently. The other robot squealed as its front and neck were sheered badly by the revving blades, and then gave a disturbing crunch as Metic used his body to leap into the center of the room, meeting the other two robots like mad pin-balls, all three striking and scattering back against the walls with a metal-shattering impact.

Metic rolled down into the floor, amidst the torn metal from his dive-bomb earlier, and glanced to the back door, still sealed, and up to the three robots gathering ahead of him. The others would need an exit, but he had to destroy these three first. He braced, revved, and rejoined the battle.

(Meanwhile…)

In the chamber beyond, Sonic slowed to a stop just as the lights burst to life. It dwarfed even the previous chamber, and lacked any clear floor, almost completely spherical. Catwalks filled the many levels along the walls, and there was a strange construct down in the bottom nadir of the room, like some kind of small building with a central tower and blocky wings to either side.

Sally whipped Nicole out. "Scan chamber, and give us bomb-placement data, Nicole."

The computer blinked and whirred quietly in her hand, then a fresh map of the large chamber appeared in a holo-sphere, with blinking green dots. "All structural support-points I can detect are indicated by green on the map, Sally."

All of the support-joints were located around the edges of the chamber, especially in the center on either side. Sally looked to their blue hero and Dulcy. "Get us to the middle level. Bunnie, Antoine, it's those forks of four or more metal beams. Place a charge on each one, especially on the right center."

Everyone confirmed. Dulcy took Bunnie and Antoine up on her back, flying to the right, while Sonic took Sally, and blasted to the left.

"Ah, ah, ah," Robotnik's voice thrummed through the chamber. "Now you're being rude little guests, freedom fighters. I'll have to teach you some manners…"

And then the mass in the center started to rise, the floor pulling apart around it as huge arms lifted out from the shoulders, which had been the 'wings' of the building, and more armor-plating folded into view. Soon, a towering, humanoid robot resembling Robotnik himself was planting its massive feet on the re-sealing floor. Robotnik's empowered voice shook the chamber even worse than before. "It's the end game, heroes."

Sonic was already focusing on the huge robot, Sally just sharing a meaningful smile with him before she ran to place her bombs. The towering machine's shoulders opened, and missiles filled the air, raining to either side. "Dulcy! Let's blow those things to kingdom come!" And he ripped into the air as a saw, skittering through the missiles like some crazed child with an etch-a-sketch, making them explode before they could even reach the catwalks.

The dragon shot away from Bunnie and Antoine as they worked toward the center on the right, blasting flame and ice through the air from her cavernous lungs, dropping or blowing the missiles up in swaths. She and Sonic started to rip around the entire chamber like some apocalyptic arena, the massive robot swinging with dangerous speed and accuracy, firing missiles, energy-blasts, and even launching more of the deadly Metal Sonic robots.

Sally set more charges, and started to sprint for the center on the left. Risking a glance down into the center, she saw the Metal Sonic robots landing and running around to catch her, Bunnie, and Antoine, their optics flickering strangely, blinking faster and faster as they got closer. "They're bombs!" she yelled as powerfully as her petite body could force.

Bunnie risked a glance around Antoine, hearing Sally's yell across the huge chamber, like a shout across a canyon. She grabbed the fox man, and yanked him back with her. "To the center, Antoine! We don't have time to decorate the walls!" They both sprinted on.

Sonic and Dulcy both wanted to rush down and fend off the speeding robots, but they were constantly held in the air by barrages of missiles threatening to annihilate the entire chamber before they could all escape. Sonic unrolled, running across a missile, and leapt toward another. "Agh! There's just too many!"

(Meanwhile…)

In the first chamber, Metic landed harshly from another mad storm of impacts and ricochets between four rolled-up robots. The three Metal Sonics landed ahead of him, the damaged leader walking toward him first.

"You're not so tough, chrome-dome. We'll have some fun with your friends. Especially the princess."

Metic's razor-fins revved again. "Unlikely, but I have no more time to play with you."

Their optics narrowed and flashed. Metic braced, and they shot after him, but the freedom-fighter robot just leapt straight into the air. The leader's damaged systems made him skid out rather than stop like his two 'brothers', and he gave an electronic squeal as he crashed into the blast-door at the original entrance to the chamber.

Metic whirled into a ball, blazed with energy, and suddenly snap-rammed down into the right robot, ricocheting into the left as the right flew into the right wall, and ripped back into the damaged leader. The two on the sides ripped craters through the metal of the walls, but the leader was torn apart on impact, exploding violently as the blast-door warped backward, and finally collapsed down into the hall beyond.

With a light spin of deceleration, Metic landed at last. The two robots pulled themselves out of the walls as he walked directly between them, facing forward. "Coming or not?"

Their optics flashed once more, and both of them, sparking and damaged, flashed to meet him. Metic just flickered, appearing two meters ahead of his previous location, and his field of energy protected him form the shower of shrapnel that came from the two robots crashing at super-sonic speed. They exploded in a ring-wave of rent metal, Metic just letting his arms relax for a moment. He glanced down to the side. "You really should pick better priorities."

And then he blazed with light, ripping toward the central chamber beyond, where the final battle was raging.

(The battle…)

Dulcy arced up through the air on the right side of the chamber, blowing volleys of missiles apart with each exhale as she swirled with her wings. Sonic was slicing the missiles on the left apart, letting them explode in his wake as he rolled toward the back wall, ripping this way and that with seemingly impossible speed.

The bomb-Sonics were rushing up the catwalks that instant, however, closing on Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine on both sides of the arena. On the right, Bunnie and Antoine finally reached the center, the fox just planting more explosives on the first set of important junctions. Waiting there, however, was a large console system, with Snively gawking at the cyborg woman where he stood.

"Well what d'ya know?" Bunnie managed darkly.

"Mademoiselle!" Antoine yelped abruptly.

Even Snively's eyes flared as Bunnie twisted, and saw the flickering eyes of a bomb-Sonic ripping toward them.

"Antoine!" Bunnie yelped sharply, and grabbed him by the scruff with her furry arm, yanking him back as she brought her left around in a block.

Snively screeched. "Not me!"

And the bomb-bot suddenly dove his head into the ground, exploding violently. The catwalk flew apart, part of it snapping Bunnie out into the open air with a grunt. Antoine reached for her, but she was flying too fast. "_Bunnie_!" he yelled desperately.

Almost at the same instant, Bunnie's face falling as she fell through the air, Sally looked back just as a bomb-Sonic reached her. Her exclamation was cut off by a shout of pain as the shock-wave ripped the catwalk up beneath her boots, and sent her flailing out into the open air. She cried out as she started to fall.

Sonic twisted through a missile, and shot back toward Sally like a blue streak through the air. Dulcy dove for Bunnie, trying to blast more missiles apart as she did, but was descending too slowly. Antoine reeled back, plastering Snively against his own console with a violent grimace. "Shut it all down! NOW, I am saying!"

Snively stuttered. "I-I can't! Only Robotnik has the codes! I can only moderate the power flows!"

Bunnie started to glance down over her shoulder, her eyes watering as she saw the ground rushing up too fast for her own good. _…I just hope the others pull it off…_

And then cool metal clamped around her legs and shoulders, startling her to look back over herself, her face flaring with relief and almost wanting to laugh. Metic had caught her, and slammed down into the right wall with his legs blurring violently. "You didn't think I'd let you get hurt again, did you?" the robot asked with some dry humor as he glanced at her side-long.

Bunnie just kept laughing, hugging him around the neck. "But we gotta get back to Antoine! I've got more bombs to place!"

He skidded around. "Understood." And he shot back across the chamber, toward the secondary control station with Antoine and Snively. Missiles and energy blasts tried to stop him, but ripped from side-to-side and sped on, never letting them touch the cyborg in his arms.

Sally yelped as something slammed into her, but then she almost sobbed with relief as it turned out to be Sonic himself, landing to a run toward the front of the chamber, missiles exploding behind him as juked left and right.

"Can we get the heck out of here yet, Sal?" he asked with his usual bravado, as if the missiles raining down them were of no concern.

The princess smirked. "Not yet. I have to place a few more bombs, or we can't be sure enough it'll work."

He swirled around, speeding toward the center on the left. "Got it!"

With Dulcy arcing back into the air, blasting missiles apart as she went, Antoine saw Bunnie safe in Metic's arms. He rounded back on Snively, his eyes glimmering. "Only ze power, you are saying, mm? I think zis will be enough. Overload eet."

Snively twitched. "B-But I can--?" he yelped as Antoine held a grenade up between them, his thumb on the dead-man trigger already.

"Overload eet, or I will make us both regret being 'ere, nes pa?"

Snively continued to twitch, but nodded, and Antoine let him scramble over the controls, driving the safety protocols off and demanding outrageous amounts of energy from the generators.

Metic skidded to a halt with Bunnie a moment later, letting her down. Bunnie marched up to the fox and stuttering servant, blinking. "Antoine, what's goin' on?"

The fox smirked. "A little insurance policy, you might say, yes?"

Seeing the power-readings and overload warnings all over the console, Bunnie started to laugh. "Darlin', you're a genius! Metic, help me place the rest of these bombs anyway!"

The robot nodded, and took her back in his arms, blurring around the catwalks above and below the work-station.

Sonic and Sally ripped to a stop at last, Sally dumping her back-pack onto the catwalk, touching her ear. "All resistance fighters! Evac! We've done all we can, get out of here!" And then she nodded to Sonic.

Robotnik cackled. "Do you think those toys will stop me? Try again!" And suddenly the huge robot snapped its arms to the sides, unleashing storms of arcing beams of energy through the chamber. Sally and Sonic hit the catwalk as their closest bombs were blown into the air by the raking energy beams, detonating out in the open without damaging enough of the chamber's structure.

Sally slammed her fist into the catwalk. "No! I can't believe that… After all this…"

Sonic rose up in front of her, helping her onto her feet as he looked out across the chamber. Metic had already yanked Bunnie, Antoine, and even Snively back to the entrance to the huge chamber as the bombs were all knocked off and destroyed out in the air on their side as well.

Reaching to his ear, Sonic spoke rapidly. "Dulcy, fly back to the door. I'll meet you there with the others. You're gonna get Sally, Bunnie, Antoine… and I guess Snively on your back, and get ready to get out of here!"

Dulcy started to dive toward the entrance. "But what about Robotnik?"

Sonic smirked, and spoke again. "Metic, you up for some double-teaming?"

"Just tell me what you need."

Sonic picked Sally up, the princess startled and looking at him with urgent curiosity regarding his apparent plan. The blue hedgehog said nothing more in that moment, ripping back to the doorway himself, missiles exploding all around him, finally skidding to a halt as Dulcy fire-blasted the last volley behind him, wrenching into a harsh landing-stop herself, just across Metic and his little group from the escaping pair.

Sonic stepped up with Metic as more missiles came rushing down at them. Dulcy lowered down, Antoine yanking Snively with him to join the two ladies who climbed onto the dragon's back. With a faint glance to each other, Metic and Sonic suddenly shot off, blasting into the air, and ripping back through the missiles, arcing all the way toward the huge robotic suit of Robotnik.

"I think we've got two heroes now, Sally-girl," Bunnie offered quietly from behind the princess.

Sally smiled gently. "I think you're right."

The two hedgehogs slammed into the massive robot's arms, and started to dash and flicker all over its form. The missiles started to curve inward, but the few that still flew out toward Dulcy and the others were quickly dispatched with arcing, buzz-sawing leaps by one or the other.

And as they ran, both of them ripped weapon systems apart, cut through armored plating, and started to wrench servos and hydraulics. Snively clung to Dulcy's back, but moaned, "We have to leave! The power-system is already going critical!"

Sally looked back at him with a strange combination of alarm and relief, then focused on Antoine, who nodded to her. She grinned, and then touched her ear. "Sonic! The whole place is gonna blow. They rigged the power core."

Sonic smirked as he ran down the huge robot's back. "Then we gotta juice. Metic! I've got a plan…"

The robot himself was blazing up the front of Robotnik's huge construct, and listened carefully to Sonic's idea. "Understood."

The black-metal hero ripped down across the huge machine's flank, rushing out of sight, and Sonic himself skidded to a halt on the top of the thing's chest, grinning as he held his spread pose into the visor. "Hey, Butt-nik! Are all your machines this ugly, or just the ones you model after yourself?"

A furious roar came through the visor just before it snapped open, and the tyrant himself lunged out, grabbing Sonic by the neck. "This is the end of you, hedgehog!"

Sonic calmly pointed his thumb over his shoulder, angling down. "You sure about that last bit?"

Robotnik focused down around the blue resistance fighter, and his eyes flared as Metic braced down on the ground in front of the huge machine. The former killing machine's optics blazed with red light, the lids narrowed, and his razor-fins revved. Energy engulfed him, and he rocketed off the ground, slammed clear through the huge machine's chest, and ripping out the far side, streaming liquefied metal in his wake, unfurling and looking back at his handiwork.

With a roar of frustration and desperation, Robotnik slammed himself back into his control pod. The entire facility was already shaking, the supports buckling with alarms flaring everywhere, computerized voices warning of imminent structural collapse and energy explosions.

Metic slammed down to his feet on the ground, Sonic revving down onto it himself on the other side, and the two of them blurred back to Dulcy and the others. The huge robot crashed down into the back wall, Robotnik still raging as his escape pod failed to activate.

Turning to the others, Metic raised a small piece of hardware, dangling from sparking wires in his hand. "The escape-capsule override."

Everyone gawked, astonished and completely relieved at the surprising bonus of success. Then Metic nodded to Dulcy. "Sonic, get on Dulcy's back as well. Dulcy, hold onto my shoulders," he said, walking around in front of the dragon, toward the shattered blast-door.

Sonic hopped up with Sally, blinking as the entire facility started to collapse around them. Dulcy clamped her claws onto Metic's shoulders, and held on tightly. "You sure we can do this, Metic?"

He nodded. "Certain. Let's grind!"

His body locked forward, his legs shattered with motion, and the energy that engulfed him as a sphere of light suddenly blazed around all of them, creating a storm of power with him at the front. Metic shot off, pulling his friends through the facility as it crashed down around them. The entire central chamber suddenly tore itself apart as the power-generator beneath it went critical.

The last thing Robotnik knew was a blinding flash of light, and heat too intense to bare. His final construct was vaporized as the center of the facility simply vanished in a column of energized particles.

Zigzagging around crashing pylons, catwalks, and entire chunks of the doomsday tower, Metic ran his friends clear out of the industrial complex, and skidded to a smooth halt on a cliff-side just beyond it, letting everyone down as his energy faded.

Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine, and even Snively hopped down, watching as Doomsday collapsed into itself, the entire area crashing to pieces and pitching smoke into the air like a weak candle.

The resistance fighters, every last one of them, came out of hiding, rising up on the cliff-sides around the plain, and when they all saw Sally and Sonic with their team, a thunderous cheer filled the countryside. Lupe grabbed her nearest pack-mate, the two dancing around. Bunnie grappled Antoine and Metic both in a powerful hug, sparing Antoine her more powerful limb, and Sonic turned to Sally with a gentle smile. She smiled back, and suddenly kissed him. It startled the hedgehog, but he relaxed into it just as fast, both of them blushing happily when they pulled apart.

Antoine laughed lightly. "Well eet eez about time, you two."

Sally giggled, Sonic laughing at the fox.

Snively stepped further over to the edge as Dulcy hollered her own cheers, and raised an eyebrow at the wreckage. "I must admit… I didn't expect this all to end today…"

Sally looked over at him. "…I know Antoine pushed you into it, but you really helped us today, Snively. Do you still want to, or do we need to be careful of each other?"

"I imagine…" he trailed off, turning around with a mildly pompous air about him, "that you will need someone to help you open up all of the secured files in the city if we're going to restore it to the old Mobotropolis?"

The princess smiled, nodding, "That would be greatly appreciated, Snively."

He bowed. "My lady."

Sonic smirked. "So how come you didn't turn on the old fatso sooner, Snively?"

"Well, I was trying to usurp him. That's not really an option now, so survival works… And it _will_ be a bit more pleasant with you lot than that old fogy anyway."

Bunnie smirked. "Well what are y'all waitin' for? We've got a victory to celebrate!"

Everyone cheered again, and Sally sent out the call. It was time to go home.

(Author's Note)

No, no, it's not over just yet. We have matters to finalize in the story yet. However, this was the final battle. I hope you enjoyed it, and found it appropriate. It was tricky balancing out Sonic and Metic, but I hope the idea that Sonic brings things to the table that Metic can't, and vice-versa, got across. If Metic still appears to be a 'Gary Stu' type semi-OC, I apologize, but it's a bit late to change it.

So, thank you for all the positive reviews and feedback. Please stick around for the final chapter (yes, next one is the finish), and I hope you've enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading.

--Cy


	9. DeRoboticized

13

Chapter 9: "De-Roboticized"

In the week immediately following the destruction of Doomsday and the fall of Robotnik, the resistance had moved into high gear. Snively helped Princess Acorn and Nicole to put Robotropolis in a state of stasis, all of the roboticized Mobians and swat-bots becoming inactive or receptive to commands from Sally and a few of the other resistance leaders to avoid any chaos. Uncle Chuck, of course, got to work as soon as he could on constructing a de-roboticizer. Rotor was his first volunteer, and when they had finalized the plans, a third joined their little team.

Metic analyzed the plans, led them to the old roboticizer, and used his unique powers over machinery to start ripping out the components they needed. Several different models were planned, to reverse the city-wide effect Robotnik had initiated when he first took-over, but a personal de-roboticizer was first on the agenda.

So, while Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine, Lupe and the others started to get the city organized again, the robot, roboticized hedgehog, and walrus got to work. A further three days later, they were near finished.

Sir Charles pulled himself out of a maintenance hatch. "How's the feed now, Rotor?"

The walrus was manning a console on the other side of the large device, with Metic standing in the middle, constructing interface systems and the de-roboticizing chamber itself. "Much better, Uncle Chuck. All the power feeds are reading green now."

Moving away from the machine, Uncle Chuck admired it for a moment. Rotor stood at the console on the left, which was set in a smoothly contoured frame of pale gray metal, which then arched up over the raised platform that would serve as the de-roboticizing chamber with the diamond-glass tube Metic was placing under the articulated arms in the arch itself. On the right side was the bulk of the machinery, in a large, contained 'engine' of sorts.

They had placed it in the old cell-block of Robotnik's fortress, which would be restored to the Mobotropolis palace, Sally's old home, as soon as possible, in order to start breaking the symbols of Robotnik's rule right from the foundation.

A moment later, the glow faded from around Metic, and he stepped down onto the floor. "According to the schematics, it is complete, Sir Charles."

The older hedgehog gave Metic a pat on the shoulder. "You saved us so much time, Metic. All of Mobius will be grateful for this."

Metic's optics shifted, as if awkward. "I only did it for one Mobian."

Rotor controlled a smile at his console, Uncle Chuck nodding. "Princess Sally then?"

In fact, Metic's mind was focused on a different Mobian woman, but he chose to answer, "I believe this will bring a smile to her face, yes."

At this, Rotor stepped back himself, looking to Sir Charles and the robot. "All that's left is to test this puppy. It's risky no matter who it is."

Uncle Chuck nodded. "I'd volunteer, but I don't want to seem so greedy after I designed the original roboticizer. And I don't want to drag Bunnie in here until we're sure it works. She's been through too much to torture her further."

Metic analyzed his memory banks for a moment. "Perhaps there is a roboticized individual who would be willing to accept the risk?"

His co-workers looked at him curiously…

(The same day…)

Some time later, a roboticized, tall, lanky Mobian was walked into the de-roboticizer room by Uncle Chuck and Rotor, Metic following behind. They stood the poor fellow in front of the machine first, and looked at him, his optics blankly staring at the floor.

Rotor patted the feline Mobian's shoulder. "Cat? We know you're still in there, and we need to hear from you. We've got a de-roboticizer here that might work, but it's risky. Do you want to take that risk?"

They waited for a moment more, and then Cat started shaking. Abruptly, his body re-animated, and he flared his optics up at them. "Risk? To get out of this hell?"

Though struck with sympathy, Rotor and Uncle Chuck laughed with the poor man. He strongly resembled his original form, even keeping the small beard and whiskers, though made of wire rather than hair, and had a similar gray, off-brown coloring to his metal plating as his original fur had. Cat nodded. "Happy to be a guinea pig if it might get me back to normal." Then he stretched. "Ugh! I wish I'd found a way to snap out of that while Robotnik was still around…"

Uncle Chuck smiled a bit. "It was much harder with him around. I figured Rotor would get through to you. Are you ready?"

Cat nodded, and Metic simply stood back, watching and waiting. Rotor helped Cat up onto the platform, into the small circle on it that indicated where the chamber would press down into place. Cat waited, and Uncle Chuck manned the console as Rotor stepped back, joining Metic. The machine whirred to life, a powerful hum filling the room. The diamond-glass chamber pressed down around Cat, who gave a wary thumbs up. Uncle Chuck pressed the main command button, and green energy sparked around the chamber as it suddenly filled with soft, white gas.

A groan sounded from inside, worrying Sir Charles and Rotor… but then Rotor saw a soft, furry hand press to the glass through the mist. He nodded to Uncle Charles, rushing up to the tube himself. The roboticized hedgehog vented the mist, and unlatched the chamber. The tube rose up from around a completely furred, normal Mobian man.

"Cat! It worked!"

The lanky man pushed himself up with a light grin. "I know." He suddenly hugged Rotor. "Oh thank the creator! You guys did it!"

Uncle Chuck stepped around, smiling. "Thank you for your help, Cat. This effect should be as permanent as the roboticizer itself, but don't panic if you revert. We'll keep tweaking it until it fixes the problem."

Cat smiled, shaking his head. "I can feel it, Uncle Chuck." He raised his fists on either side. "I'll be very surprised if I revert, but don't worry, I won't freak out."

Metic raised his head finally. "Do we wait and see, or begin de-roboticizing immediately?"

Uncle Chuck rubbed his chin. "Let's give it… twenty-four hours. Cat, mind keeping a low profile for a day?"

The feline shook his head. "Not at all, if it'll help the others."

Rotor grinned. "Come on, I'll get you to a real bed for a change."

Cat laughed, content and quite happy. "That sounds like Heaven."

(The next day…)

Twenty-four hours later, Sally, Sonic, Tails, Antoine, Dulcy, and Bunnie herself were being escorted into the de-roboticizer room by Rotor. The walrus had been too excited to spoil the surprise, and had only told them that a lot of progress had been made since they'd last checked in.

Sonic was getting impatient, of course. "Couldn't I just juice us all there already?"

Rotor waved him down, and Sally swatted his shoulder. "We're here, so relax." And he opened the door.

Waiting inside were Metic and Uncle Chuck, on either side of Cat, who was grinning with his hands on his hips. Dulcy had never seen the feline man, but as she ducked into the room, realized it was quite good to see him as Sally held her hands to her mouth, Sonic gave a shout of triumph, and Bunnie ran over, hugging the tall man. Tails was hollering and jumping with excitement, Antoine just clapping lightly.

Cat finally pulled back from Bunnie with a big smile. "Guess what, Bunnie?"

She blinked at him. "What…?"

Uncle Chuck nudged Metic in the side, and the robot's optics flickered at him for a heart-beat, then focused on Bunnie. "It is your turn, Bunnie."

The cyborg focused on Metic instantly, and then it hit her. Her eyes widened, watered, and focused over on the machine waiting at the back of the room, her mouth hanging slack from the disbelief of her long-time dream coming into the real world. "Y-you mean…?"

Uncle Chuck smiled fondly. "Step up there, Bunnie. We just let Cat go first because he was willing to take the risk if we'd miscalculated anything. It's real this time. All the parts are there, every scrap of them. Cat has shown no signs of reversion for a full twenty-four hour period.

Sally was actually crying herself, Sonic patting her shoulder. "Just get up there, Bunnie!" the poor woman finally blurted out in exasperated happiness.

The rabbit jerked, then giggled, and anxiously stepped up onto the platform, spotting the circle, and placing herself in it, facing everyone with a bit of a blush on her cheeks and a giddy smile on her lips.

Uncle Chuck nodded to the walrus. "Rotor, help her out, would you?"

He grinned, and ran over to the console, starting it up. "Hold on, Bunnie. Just a few more seconds."

Everyone gathered close, Dulcy staying on all-fours in the low-ceiling room. Bunnie looked up as the tube pressed down around her, and then fidgeted with her hands as she waited. The green energy sparked, and the white gas burst into the tube. Bunnie gave a light 'oof!', and Rotor vented the gas, the tube lifting away.

…And there sat Bunnie, on her soft, furry legs, staring down at her left arm, seamlessly flowing into her shoulder, all soft brown fur, and quite as lovely as her right always had been. Sally pressed her lips between her teeth to stop from sobbing, her eyes watering, as Bunnie had to start wiping her own with both hands, trying not to break down into sobs of joy in front of everyone. "M-my stars, y'all… T-they're… really… really back…"

Sally realized the perfect thing to do, and suddenly pushed Tails toward the floppy-eared woman. "Go Tails!" she whispered playfully.

The fox boy grinned up at the princess, and then ran over, diving into Bunnie's lap. The rabbit woman laughed, startled happily, and squeezed the little fox into her front with a tight hug. "Aunt Bunnie, you're so soft!" Tails giggled as he hugged her back.

She gasped with another laugh, giggling, blushing, and crying all at once. "I sure am! I can finally give you a real hug, darlin'!"

"You _always_ gave the best hugs, Aunt Bunnie!"

The poor woman couldn't resist the tears anymore, half-sobbing as she patted his head, keeping him close on her lap. "Aw… ain't you just the sweetest little thing, Tails…"

Tails hopped up as Bunnie rose onto her own two feet for the first time in far too long. Though the bulky limbs had never detracted from her beauty before, she certainly had a lovely figure with her original three limbs back. Sonic cleared his throat into his fist, blushing a bit, but Sally just nudged him with a wry glance before running up to her friend herself. "Bunnie… I'm so happy for you…"

Her friend smiled powerfully at Sally, and then embraced her. "I know ya are, Sally-girl… I know ya are…" And she finally broke down sobbing completely, just hanging onto Sally's shoulders.

The squirrel woman held her up, sobbing herself, but both women were smiling so happily. For Bunnie, her shame was completely shattered, she _felt_ like herself again, and for the others, her dear friends, it was the biggest single event that signaled the end of Robotnik's reign of cruelty.

Over the next few moments, Bunnie hugged and laughed with each of them there, even Antoine himself, and Uncle Chuck. Only one person remained, and he stood far back, never assuming he was included in their abundant joy. Bunnie, however, pulled away from Uncle Chuck, and smiled gently at Metic as he stood so far away in the small room, his head tilted down. Sally let Tails hug her leg, Sonic putting an arm around her shoulders, and she called the others back a bit as Bunnie walked up to the robotic hero that had been one of their most feared enemies. "Metic…?"

He looked up into her lovely green eyes, which were glowing with so much relief and gratitude. "Yes, ma'am?"

She coiled her arms around him, closing her eyes against fresh tears as she had to raise herself onto tip-toes on his larger frame. Metic was surprised, his optics flaring, but his arms came around to hold onto her, not wanting her to fall. The metal claws just rested against her back, however, never closing against her. Bunnie wasn't sure if it would mean anything to him, but she stroked the metal beside one of his razor-fins, and whispered, "You helped me get 'em back, Sugar-bot. I'll never forget it… I swear…"

He lowered his voice to a whisper as well. "…I only wanted you to smile… For what I did, you owe me nothing."

Bunnie held on. "I owe you as much as any a-my friends, Metic…" Then she smirked a bit. "'Sides… I thought you wanted Sally-girl to smile…"

"That also… but my priorities shifted after you embraced me the first time…"

At this she pulled back from him, his arms snapping away before they could resist her choice, and gently looked into his optics. "…You sayin' you did this just to see me smile, darlin'?"

"With all of the power at my disposal."

A softness came over her features, replacing the glowing joy for a meaningful affection for such a devoted friend. She smiled warmly, and then eased close, pressing her left hand to one of his cheeks, and lightly kissing the other.

His optics flared, Sonic making an 'uuu' sound (for which he was more powerfully nudged by Sally), and Bunnie pulled back with a playful wink. "I think ya earned one better 'an a smile, darlin'. Hope ya don't mind?"

Metic blinked rapidly at her, stunned. "O-oh… that… was…. most appreciated." The metal on his faceplate was actually starting to tone red under the effects of his unique power.

Dulcy giggled. "You made a robot blush, Bunnie!"

It let the rabbit woman blush, giggling herself as she held a hand near her mouth. "I guess you're right, Dulcy. And ain't he surprisingly cute for a big-bad war machine?" She recovered with an alluring wink over at her friends.

Everyone started laughing, Metic ducking his head down as a faint chuckle came from his calm voice. Sonic hopped into the middle of everything abruptly, striking a playful pose. "And, of course, you all know what this calls for, right?"

"What?" Sally and some of the others played along lightly.

"Just the biggest party on Mobius since the end of the great war."

Uncle Chuck laughed. "Let's try to get the city closer to normal and get our people de-roboticized before _that_ party can take place, Sonic."

The fastest thing on Mobius stuck his tongue out at his uncle, and everyone laughed again. Sally smiled over at Uncle Chuck as they calmed down. "I'll contact Snively, and we'll start de-roboticizing the population first-thing."

Metic raised a claw. "I can begin working on the larger-scale devices, to restore the city."

Rotor trotted over. "I'll help ya out there."

So-decided, they got to work. Bunnie, for her part, picked Tails up in her arms, and walked out laughing as she tickled the poor boy mercilessly. Tails was so happy for her. He had never seen Aunt Bunnie smile in such a lovely way, and it just refused to leave her beautiful face.

(Time goes on…)

Over the course of the following month, Snively helped organize the de-roboticization of the population, while Metic, Rotor, and Uncle Chuck designed larger-scale devices to fix the city and landscapes around Mobius. The friend were gathered one more time, however, for Uncle Chuck's de-roboticization, which had been a long time coming.

He put the finishing touches on the city-repair system with his original hands, and Metic helped get it started. By the end of the month, Mobotropolis had been restored, and the smog was breaking apart thanks to air-cleaning facilities arranged around the borders of the city itself, again thanks to Rotor, Sir Charles, and Metic.

As the remaining member of the royal family, Princess Sally Acorn moved into the palace, though she volunteered it as the center of government, with her living quarters connected. Though everything remained very casual, she appointed the leaders of the other rebel groups as her chief ministers, with Sonic the hedgehog as the minister of defense.

With the swat-bots themselves being converted into the old service and order droids that had patrolled Mobotropolis in its hay-day, it became clear that Mobius was really returning to normal, and that meant a long-awaited celebration was absolutely necessary. The palace was opened while the sun still sent rays glistening across the cityscape of yellow stone, pale streets, and plentiful gardens. The entire population began to celebrate, with parades, dancing, and music in the streets, everyone welcome to join in the feast and dancing prepared inside the palace as well.

In the main hall of the palace, Cat and a group of his friends showed off their old talents for music, playing all sorts of instruments with lively, happy rhythms, perfect for celebration and dancing.

Sonic stood by one of the buffet tables, his shoe tapping the floor with his usual impatience. "Honestly, what is she up to anyway?"

A soft giggle came from behind him, and the hedgehog spun around, only to gawk and blush.

Sally smiled brightly at his shock. She was dressed in her old princess-attire, with a pale blue top, baggy, transparent sleeves bound at the wrists, and similar pants, bound at the waist and ankles. Her hair was tied back, with a lovely golden tiara on her forehead. "It's been a while, I thought I might try something…"

Trying to recover, Sonic began to smile. "It… looks great on you, Sal."

She blushed gently, tipping her head, and then winked, nodding out to the dancing. "So are you gonna show me how fast those feet really are?"

The hedgehog grinned, and then made a grand show of bowing with an offered hand. "My pleasah, madame." He was obviously making fun of Antoine's accent without falling into it himself.

His beloved squirrel giggled, took his hand, and pulled him out onto the dance floor. Even Sir Charles was laughing merrily as he danced little jigs over on the side, Antoine blushing as he asked a lovely fox-woman, recently de-roboticized, for her hand. She obliged him with a happy smile, and they spun around the dance-floor with the best of them.

Rotor stood by the doorway, smiling as he looked around. He was never sure what to do at parties like this, but he liked seeing everyone so happy after all the trauma of the fighting. Of course, there was still a lot left to do, but restoring the city was well worth celebrating to his view.

A soft voice cleared its throat behind him, and the walrus quickly spun around. Rather like Sonic with Sally, the poor man was stunned stiff, his mouth hanging open.

Bunnie smiled bashfully, blushing a bit, as she stood in a long dress of metallic pink, her ears quirked as ever, but her fur freshly washed and shining around her brilliant green eyes. She seemed a bit nervous herself, patting the bodice and upper part of her skirt self-consciously as she stood in front of him. "Hi there, Sugar. I'm just… not quite used to all this… dress business."

Finally finding his voice, Rotor smiled and managed, "Well you could've fooled me. You look amazing, Bunnie."

She smiled happily, and came closer to him. "Thank you kindly, Sugar." And then she leaned over, pecking his cheek. Not wanting to laugh at him as he blushed, she continued, "I think I owe ya a dance for all you've done for me during this big war and all… Wanna?"

Rotor was still blushing, scratching the back of his head. "I'm a really horrible dancer, Bunnie. Two left feet and all that…"

The rabbit woman just winked, and took his hands. "Then I'll show ya how it's done."

He gave a playful yelp as he was dragged onto the floor, but proved to be a perfectly adequate dancer, relaxing with a good friend and just having fun.

Lupe, surprising everyone, turned out to have an excellent singing voice, and joined in on Cat's band with her ad-libbed lyrics, half-laughing as everyone enjoyed her talent. Dulcy, comically enough, was dancing lightly with little Tails and the other children in the palace, their restored parents laughing and smiling as they watched.

It was all simply lovely to see, even for a robotic mind. Metic stood out from the dance-floor, waiting by one of the balcony doors, his hands behind his back. No one seemed bothered by his presence, which relieved him, but he didn't want to disturb anyone. He knew it wouldn't take much for anyone to remember his past rather than his most recent aid to their cause.

Of particular satisfaction to the robot, were the sincerely joyful smiles on Sally and Bunnie's faces as they danced with Sonic and Rotor. The princess and her blue hero simply belonged together, it was plain even to his synthetic eyes, and Bunnie had long been grateful for all of Rotor's aid. Had he a mouth, Metic would have been calmly smiling, but his lightened optics revealed as much over his vented faceplate.

Someone came up beside him, and the robot idly glanced to the side. "You seem more nervous than I, here, Snively."

The former subordinate of Robotnik gave a nervous smile in his new uniform, a Mobian official's white and gold regalia. Clearing his throat, Snively replied, "If I hadn't been assisting with the de-roboticizing, I think I would've been lynched already…"

Metic looked over the crowd again. "Likely, but you did help. They know that." His memory banks registered some old data, and he spoke again, "Are you not familiar with some musical instruments, Snively?"

The reformed man blinked up at the robot. "What…?"

Nodding up to the band, Metic replied, "Join in the fun."

Blinking, as if he'd simply not considered it before, Snively hurried over to the band, waited for their current song to finish as everyone danced happily, and then whispered to Cat and Lupe. They laughed, and brought him up onto the stage, where he took to one of the wind-instruments, and with the start of the next song, proved surprisingly adept with it, adding a nice flighty mood to the already free-form music.

Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, and Rotor found each other on the dance-floor, sharing laughs as they all took a break between songs. Realizing they were worn out for a moment, they all retreated to the side, the men fetching their ladies drinks. Coincidentally, Metic was standing not far off from where they took a break, and Sonic waved him over as he returned with Sally's drink. Rotor, Sally, and Bunnie all smiled when Metic blinked at being summoned, showing they didn't have a problem with it at all. So the robot came over, a bit awkward. "Yes, sir?" he asked quietly of Sonic first.

The hedgehog laughed. "You're calling me 'sir' now, Metic?"

"You'd prefer 'Minister'?"

Sonic blanched, but everyone else in their little group was laughing, especially when it was combined with Metic's dry humor.

Sally finally controlled her laughter enough to add, "I don't think Sonic will ever answer to that title."

"No way!" the hedgehog affirmed instantly, waving his hands out.

Bunnie smirked at Metic, and then whispered to Rotor. The walrus chuckled, nodding and waving to her to continue. So, the rabbit woman hopped in front of Metic, setting her cup down on the nearest table. "Now do you see the big problem with this party, Sugar-bot?" she playfully began, setting her furry hands on her hips.

Metic blinked at her, surprised she was so close anyway, and then looked around, scanning the room. "…Everyone seems to be enjoying the party…"

She knocked on his metal chest with one knuckle. "'Cept _you_! Now are you gonna dance with me, or is a lady gonna have to get forceful with ya?" She mock-threatened him, raising one fist.

The robot was completely thrown for a loop, and the princess, Sonic, and Rotor were all trying to avoid bursting out in laughing at their poor friend. Metic quickly glanced to the dance floor, and back to Bunnie. "I… am not comfortable to dance with… Being metal… and such…"

Bunnie smirked, and he knew his tactic had failed. "You forgettin' I was a cyborg for the last few years, Sugar-bot? A little bit of cold metal ain't gonna bother me while I'm dancin' with a friend who helped me get my old body back _and_ trounce that nasty old rust-bucket Robotnik to boot!" She leaned over, and yanked his hands up with her own. "Now come dance!"

Metic gave a pitiful moan as she dragged him out onto the dance-floor, and Sally smiled happily as Bunnie rushed into a playful display in front of the robot, completely relaxed and cutting loose. Metic, for his part, took a few seconds to start moving, but started to mimic motions he'd seen others use… before seeing how freely Bunnie was hopping and spinning around with him. He started to blur and spin, catching her hands whenever she reached for him, and actually dancing quite well.

It was actually quite cute, and Sally found herself pouting over at them. "He's actually just a big softy around Bunnie, isn't he?"

Rotor chuckled. "Completely different person compared to what he came from. It's really amazing."

"Not to mention the amazing inspiration behind his design!" Sonic added in classic flare, striking a pose and stroking back some spines.

Rotor and Sally both rolled their eyes, laughing, and then Sally pulled Sonic into a warm hug. He melted in her arms, blushing and smiling. "Yeah, you're pretty amazing… for a brash, super-impatient hedgehog… But I wouldn't want you any other way."

They laughed together, Rotor grinning for them himself.

It was a grand party, with old freedom fighters enjoying the excitement and relaxation of freedom too long in coming. Families reunited, friends, and loved ones, all able to appreciate each other after a cruel time with all the more affection. Even a robotic ally knew it what it was like to feel happiness and joy with others, finding it so easily in the appreciation and strength of a young woman dancing with him.

It was a good day.

(That night…)

Glowing with silvery beauty high in the night sky, the Mobian moon was so much more welcome for the absence of the smog that had once hid it almost perpetually from view. Standing out on a high balcony of the palace, Sally Acorn sighed contentedly, resting her hands on the balustrade around the edge. Robotnik was gone, her people were saved from the horrors of roboticization, and the city itself had been restored. There was so much to be joyful about, but a lingering sorrow softened her smile from it's full expression.

Her dear father. Robotnik had banished him to the void, but she knew he was alive. If only she could hear his voice call her Bean again, or have him embrace her so affectionately. Sally lowered her face, looking down over the almost fully-restored city.

"Hey…"

A soft start caught her breath, but she turned to smile fondly at Sonic, the blue hedgehog toeing the ground behind her with an awkward smile.

"Mind if I join you out here?"

"Please," she invited, nodding.

Sonic walked up to her, and offered his arms. Sally exhaled, wrapped her arms around him, and letting him embrace her in his surprisingly tender, loving manner. He was so different when they were alone, but it fit so well with his playful bravado and impatience the rest of the time. She rested her head on his shoulder, and found it easy to smile again.

"We'll find your Dad, Sal."

Her sapphire eyes flared gently, and then turned gentle with sorrow and appreciation for Sonic's understanding. She pulled her right arm up, patting his cheek as she rested her watering eyes into his neck. "Thank you, Sonic… For saying that…"

"Hey, it was time for a big party today, but we're not done yet. We all know that, Sal. Bunnie, Unc… Heck, even Ant."

She giggled through her tears. "Of course… you're all such amazing friends…"

Sonic held her close, his eyes looking down over her arm, but they weren't really focused on anything. "So… am I just a good friend, Sal?"

The princess stiffened with surprise, easing her head up from his shoulder, letting him look back into her eyes with a gentle humor in his smile, as if it weren't important. She knew better. The squirrel smiled in her gentle, beautiful way, and caressed his cheek. "…I wouldn't mind if you were a little different than a friend, Sonic…"

Her speedy hero grinned. "Way past cool…"

Sally laughed, blushing with him as they huddled close again. "You have a way with words, Sonic…" she almost moaned at his lack of tact, but it just so like him she found it charming.

He pulled his head back a bit, and she looked up at his face softly. "We'll get everything back we can, Sal. Your Dad, any left-overs from Ro-butt-nik… If we can find it, we will."

It made her smile more, but Sally finally touched a finger to his lips, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Let your mouth stop running for a second… I want to kiss you."

He clamped his jaw shut, blushing. She giggled, and pressed her lips to his, her eyes falling shut. His followed suit, and they simply lingered together, happy in each other's arms. When they parted, smiling fondly, mutually grateful, Sonic added, "I'll always stop for you."

"And I believe it."

They held each other close in the moonlight, sharing their love over a beautiful city, an old home reborn. Many adventures lay ahead, but instead of fighting for survival, the future was bright with hope. They had peace.

Finé

(Author's Note)

And we're done. I sincerely hope the finish was satisfactory for you all. My arc was done, but I very much wanted to admit that there was more left to do. It's simply a change in the state of things, much to the better. I'd also be the first to admit that Snively's abrupt reformation is a stretch, but I really intend for him to just be 'surviving', which I tried to make more obvious with the 'lynched' remark he made at the party. If I ever write a sequal-fic to this one, I'll make a bigger deal out of Snively's development and consequences of his own evils under Robotnik.

In the end, Metic, the real arc of the story, is fully Mobian (human) in all ways except physically. He has a heart, feelings, and intelligence of his own, he's just very different from his friends by his nature. His programming drove him toward Sally, his experiences drew him toward Bunnie. I deliberately leave Bunnie's 'romantic' status vague here at the end, because I really liked how she and Rotor interacted, and didn't specifically need a romantic link with Metic for my own satisfaction. I think you could make a good argument, based on the fic, for either as a couple (or neither, and just keep the three very good friends). All that said, I did really enjoy having Bunnie kiss Metic on the cheek, and the response thereafter.

I'm happy with the fic. It is what it is. Not a great, ground-breaking work, but my own spin on things, with a reasonable level of quality to my own eyes. I hope you enjoyed it, thank you very much for all the reviews and critiques, and thank you for reading.

--Cy


End file.
